Table 1.

Functional traits of focal species considered for trophic rewilding. ABM is average body mass in kg [23]; feeding type is ‘B’ for browser, ‘C’ for carnivore and ‘G’ for grazer; habitats are derived from IUCN Red List species accounts [24]; elevation in m is from the IUCN Red List species account where reported [24], except for the horse as the elevation limit appears to be for its current indigenous range only due to the restricted elevational range provided being between 1100 and 2000 m [24], relative to the known feral range upper limit of 4500 m [25]; conservation translocation type is broken into reintroduction: ‘HIS’ for historical reintroduction and ‘PLE’ for Pleistocene/Prehistoric reintroduction; and ‘ECOL-R’ for ecological replacement. Note that the proposed translocation type depends on area, so the focal species can fall into more than one category. Within each feeding type (carnivore and herbivore: grazing/browser), species are ordered by ABM. See the electronic supplementary material for discussion of each of these species in the published literature.

taxon	common name	ABM	feeding type	habitat	elevation	translocation type proposed	known or potential ecological functions
Panthera tigris	tiger	162	C	mixed grasslands, woodlands, forests	4500	Asia: HIS, PLE [26]	apex predator of large herbivores [26,27]; regulates prey populations [27]
Panthera leo	lion	159	C	grasslands, savannahs, forests, deserts	4200	Africa [27], Asia [28], Europe [29]: HIS, PLE; North America: ECOL-R [30,31]	apex predator of large herbivores [27,30,31]; regulates prey populations [30]
Panthera pardus	leopard	52	C	grasslands, deserts, mountains, forests	5200	Africa [32], Asia [32], Europe [29]: HIS, PLE	predator of large herbivores [29]; regulates prey populations [27]
Acinonyx jubatus	cheetah	51	C	grasslands, dry forests, deserts	4000	Africa [33], Asia [33]: HIS, PLE; North America [30,31]: ECOL-R	predator of fast, agile prey [27,30,31]
Loxodonta africana	African savanna elephant	3825	G/B	grasslands, savannahs, forests, deserts	n.a.	Africa: HIS, PLE; Australia, South America: ECOL-R	ecological engineer by dispersing large seeds and removing trees [1,31,35]; controls plants adapted to grazing [34]
Elephas maximus	Asian elephant	3270	G/B	forests, mixed grasslands	3000	Asia [26]: HIS, PLE; Australia [34], Europe [29], North America [30,31], South America [35]: ECOL-R	ecological engineer by dispersing large seeds and removing trees [1,29–31,35]
Ceratotherium simum	white rhino	2285	G	grasslands, savannahs, shrublands	n.a.	Africa: HIS, PLE; Australia [34]: ECOL-R	ecological engineer by dispersing large seeds and removing trees [30,31]; controls plants adapted to grazing [34]
Rhinoceros unicornis	Indian rhino	1844	G	grasslands, savannahs, shrublands	n.a.	Asia [26]: HIS, PLE; Australia [34]: ECOL-R	ecological engineer by dispersing large seeds and removing trees [26]
Diceros bicornis	black rhino	996	B	shrublands, grasslands, savannahs, deserts	n.a.	Africa: HIS, PLE; Australia [34]: ECOL-R	ecological engineer by dispersing large seeds and removing trees [30,31]
Bison bonasus	European bison or wisent	676	G/B	grasslands, open forests	2100	Europe [36]: HIS, PLE	wallowing creates ephemeral pools, serve as fire breaks, and increase landscape-scale plant diversity [29,36,37]
Camelus dromedarius	dromedary camel	493	B	desert scrub		Africa [27], Asia [28]: HIS, PLE; North America [30,31] ECOL-R	salt-tolerant [29,38]; large home ranges [39], thus may redistribute salts [40]; seed dispersal [31]
Equus ferus	horse	404	G	grasslands, open forests	4500 [25]	Asia, Europe, South America: [41] HIS, PLE, ECOL-R; North America: HIS, PLE, ECOL-R	feeds on coarse, abrasive grasses [41]
Ovibos moschatus	muskox	313	G	Arctic tundra	n.a.	Asia [29], Europe [29] HIS, PLE	grazer in extreme arctic environment [29,37]
Cervus elaphus	red deer	241	G/B	woodlands, shrublands, grasslands, mountains	4500	Europe: HIS, PLE	grazing modifies habitat and provides prey base for carnivores and scavengers [42]
Tapirus terrestris	lowland tapir	169	G/B	forests, shrublands, grasslands	n.a.	North America, South America: HIS [43,44]	disperse seed and browse [26,43,44]
Equus asinus	donkey	165	G/B	deserts	n.a.	North America: HIS, PLE, ECOL-R [31,35]	digs wells used by other species [29,45]