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Litvaitis, J.A.; Beltran, J.F.; Delibes, M.; Moreno, S.; Villafuerte, R.
Sustaining felid populations in human-dominated landscapes
1996  Journal of Wildlife Research (1): 292-296

Worldwide, populations of wild cats have been reduced and fragmented by exploitation and contemporary land uses. Although many of these populations are now protected from legal exploitation. they continue to decline as human-related factors (e.g., habitat degradation, poaching, and vehicle coIlisions) and stochastic events limit survival and reproduction. Local efforts to protect endangered populations of felids will likely fail because of the area requirements of these wide-ranging carnivores. Previous research has demonstrated the imponance of rnaintaining demographic connections (via habitat corridors) to ensure long-term viability of these populations. However, such management efforts may require decades to implement and small populations may perish before such effons are completed. Therefore, we suggest that conservationists consider a multi-scaled approach in space (local, landscape, regional, and international) and time (immediate action, interim steps, and long-term goals) to restoring and maintaining these populations. The advantages and limitations of such an approach are examined with information on bobcats (_L rufus_) in the northeastem United States and lberian Iynx (_Lynx pardina_) in southem Spain, Persistence of disjunct populations of felids in human-dominated habitats will likely be dependent on management efforts at several spatial and temporal scales.

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