Status and Ecological Effects of the World’s Largest Carnivores
The largest terrestrial species in the order Carnivora are wide-ranging and rare
because of their positions at the top of food webs. They are some of the world’s most admired mammals
and, ironically, some of the most imperiled. Most have experienced substantial population
declines and range contractions throughout the world during the past two centuries. Because of the
high metabolic demands that come with endothermy and large body size, these carnivores often
require large prey and expansive habitats. These food requirements and wide-ranging behavior
often bring them into confl ict with humans and livestock. This, in addition to human intolerance,
renders them vulnerable to extinction. Large carnivores face enormous threats that have caused
massive declines in their populations and geographic ranges, including habitat loss and degradation,
persecution, utilization, and depletion of prey. We highlight how these threats can affect the
conservation status and ecological roles of this planet’s 31 largest carnivores.
Publication Date: 2014
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