Size matters: a systematic review of five decades (1976–2025) of research on wild felids in Nepal
This systematic review of 50 years of research in Nepal reveals a significant bias toward large, charismatic felids over small cats, with studies increasingly concentrated in protected areas and focused on big cats, thereby failing to address the conservation needs of the majority of the country's 13 felid species.
Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This is an AI-generated explanation of a preprint that has not been peer-reviewed. It is not medical advice. Do not make health decisions based on this content. Read full disclaimer
In the wild, predators play a quiet but vital role in keeping nature balanced. By hunting herbivores and smaller animals, they prevent any single species from taking over and ensure that ecosystems remain healthy and diverse. Among these hunters, the family of cats is particularly important. While the world's largest cats, like tigers and lions, often capture our imagination and receive the most attention, they are only a small part of a much larger group. The majority of wild cat species are actually quite small, ranging from the size of a house cat to slightly larger. These smaller hunters are just as essential to their environments, yet they often live in the shadows of their famous, larger relatives. This disparity in attention is not just a matter of public interest; it shapes how scientists study nature and how governments decide where to spend money on conservation. When research focuses heavily on the charismatic giants, the needs of the smaller, less famous species can be overlooked, leaving gaps in our understanding of how to protect them.
A new review of fifty years of research from Nepal brings this imbalance into sharp focus. Nepal is a country with an extraordinary variety of wild cats, hosting thirteen different species within its borders. This includes the massive tiger and the high-altitude snow leopard, but also ten smaller species that range from the fishing cat, which lives in wetlands, to the tiny rusty-spotted cat. Researchers from Wild Care Nepal decided to look back at every scientific article published about these cats between 1976 and 2025 to see what we actually know. They gathered 269 articles from 108 different journals and analyzed who was being studied, what topics were covered, and where the research was taking place. Their goal was to determine if the amount of research a cat received depended on its size or its fame, and whether this pattern matched the actual needs of the animals for survival.
The results reveal a story of heavy bias. For decades, the scientific output on wild cats in Nepal was very low, but it began to rise sharply after 2005. However, this growth has not been shared equally. The three big cats—the tiger, the leopard, and the snow leopard—account for more than three-quarters of all the research records. The tiger alone was the subject of 104 articles, making it the most studied species by far. In contrast, the ten small cat species combined received less than a quarter of the attention. The researchers found a clear link between body size and the amount of study: the heavier the cat, the more likely it was to be the subject of a scientific paper. While the number of studies on big cats continued to climb in the most recent five-year period, the number of studies on small cats actually dropped. This suggests that the surge in research is driven by the popularity of the large species rather than a broad effort to understand all the cats in the region.
The type of information gathered about these animals also differs drastically based on their size. Studies on big cats tend to be deep and complex, exploring their biology, population numbers, habitat needs, and the conflicts they have with humans. In contrast, nearly two-thirds of the records for small cats are simply notes on where they were seen or basic maps of where they might live. These small-cat records are often accidental discoveries made while scientists were looking for tigers or leopards. There is very little research on the ecology of the small cats, such as what they eat, how they raise their young, or how they are affected by threats like poaching or habitat loss. This lack of detailed knowledge is a problem because four of Nepal's small cat species are currently listed as Data Deficient, meaning scientists do not have enough information to know if they are safe or in danger.
Geography plays a major role in this gap as well. Almost two-thirds of all the studies were conducted strictly inside protected areas, such as national parks and wildlife reserves. While these parks are crucial for conservation, most of Nepal's small cats actually live outside these boundaries, in farmlands, wetlands, and forests shared with people. The fishing cat, for example, relies on wetlands that are largely outside the protected network, yet very few studies have looked at them in these human-dominated landscapes. The research is also concentrated in just a few famous parks, leaving large parts of the country and many species completely unexamined. This means that the current map of knowledge is shaped more by where the famous cats live and where the money is available, rather than by where the animals actually need help.
The authors of the review argue that the common belief that protecting big cats will automatically protect the smaller ones is likely incorrect. While big cats need large territories that can cover some of the same ground as small cats, the smaller species often depend on specific micro-habitats, like dense forest undergrowth or wetlands, that are not necessarily secured by big-cat conservation. Furthermore, small cats face different threats, such as being killed in retaliation for attacking poultry, which is a growing issue that remains largely unstudied. The researchers suggest that to secure the future of Nepal's entire cat population, conservation efforts must shift. They recommend directing more funding and research toward the small cats, expanding studies into areas outside of protected parks, and moving beyond simple sightings to understand the true ecology and threats facing these overlooked species. Without this change, the long-term survival of many of Nepal's wild cats remains uncertain, hidden in the shadow of their more famous cousins.
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