Tigers
John Seidensticker is seeking to understand the ecological
and political criteria we need to identify and meet to sustain
wild tiger populations in Asia. The landscapes of Asia are
human-dominated, and he is working to understand and encourage
landscape patterns and conditions where tigers can persist.
He also works to develop effective science-based conservation
leaders in tiger range states, because good conservation
must be based on good science. 
Lions
Mitchell Bush studies Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) in free-living lions in Kruger National Park, South Africa.
Jaguars
Rebecca Spindler and Sharon Deem are conducting jaguar
reproductive and health studies throughout the Americas.
Leopards
John Seidensticker and colleagues are working on genetic and morphological variation in the geographically widespread leopard.
Clouded Leopards
The Thailand Clouded Leopard and Fishing Cat Program, led by JoGayle Howard, is helping to improve long-term management of these species in range-country zoological institutions by offering expertise and on-site management to the Thailand Zoological Park Organization (ZPO) and the Khao Kheow Open Zoo. The focus of the program is management, husbandry, nutrition, propagation, training, field studies, and education. Research on behavior, stress, nutrition, and reproduction is integrated into the management of the clouded leopards and fishing cats within the ZPO.
The North American zoo population of clouded leopards is at high risk and is not self-sustaining. The population is genetically compromised, and natural reproduction rarely occurs because males aggressively attack, injure, and kill females. Led by David Wildt, cutting-edge technologies are currently being applied to help solve the problem of reproductive failure in this rare species.
Cheetahs
David Wildt, JoGayle Howard, and their colleagues study
the reproduction of endangered cheetahs and have pioneered
methods of assisted reproduction in this species. 
Pumas
JoGayle Howard is helping save the Florida panther using fertility assessments.
Fishing Cats
Zoo scientist John Seidensticker is working with Sri Lankan
conservation biologists to study the Distribution and Ecology
of the Fishing Cat and the Rusty Spotted Cat (another
little-known small cat) in Suburban Habitats of Sri Lanka.
This will represent the first detailed study of these species
and the results will aid their conservation. It will also
raise awareness of the conservation needs of these charismatic
cats, which already have semi-flagship status in Sri Lanka.
The results will be used to develop a conservation strategy
for the cats and other medium-size carnivores to be integrated
into urban development plans.
There are about 100 fishing cats in North American zoos, but the population lacks genetic diversity and is not self-sustaining. Assisted breeding techniques will enable us to import new genes (in the form of sperm or embryos) from fishing cats in the wild or in Southeast Asian zoos without transporting live animals or removing them from natural habitats. Led by David Wildt, Zoo scientists are developing artificial insemination and semen freezing techniques. They are studying reproductive cycles, sperm quality, semen cryopreservation, and artificial insemination so that assisted breeding results in consistent production of offspring. Their findings will be related to parallel studies of animal behavior, nutrition, and genetics.
See Clouded Leopards above for information on the Thailand Clouded Leopard and Fishing Cat Program.
Rusty-spotted Cats
See Fishing Cats above for information on Distribution and Ecology of the Fishing Cat and the Rusty Spotted Cat in Suburban Habitats of Sri Lanka.
