Individual Identification of Large Felids in Field Studies: Common Methods, Challenges, and Implications for Conservation Science

Abstract

Large felids represent some of the most threatened large mammals on Earth, critical for both tourism economies and ecosystem function. Most populations are in a state of decline, and their monitoring and enumeration is therefore critical for conservation. This typically rests on the accurate identification of individuals within their populations. We review the most common and current survey methods used in individual identification studies of large felid ecology (body mass > 25 kg). Remote camera trap photography is the most extensively used method to identify leopards, snow leopards, jaguars, tigers, and cheetahs which feature conspicuous and easily identifiable coat patterning. Direct photographic surveys and genetic sampling are commonly used for species that do not feature easily identifiable coat patterning such as lions. We also discuss the accompanying challenges encountered in several field studies, best practices that can help increase the precision and accuracy of identification and provide generalised ratings for the common survey methods used for individual identification.

Application of multi-species photo-ID database management systems: a user’s perspective

“…While for some animals their primary identifiable features do not change in appearance whether viewed from the left or right sides, such as the pattern of notches on the dorsal fin of many dolphin species (e.g., Würsig and Würsig 1977;Read et al 2003;Verborgh et al 2022); for many other, such as elephants where identification of individuals is based on the pattern of natural markings on their membranous ears (e.g., Ardovini et al 2008;de Silva et al 2022) or the pattern of facial wrinkles (Whitehouse and Hall-Martin 2000;Chui and Karczmarski 2022), or the coat pattern of giraffes (Bolger et al 2012;Muller 2018), or that of several species of felids (Oberosler et al 2022;Pereira et al 2022) and canids (Dorning and Harris 2019;Marneweck et al 2022), or pigmentation and scars of some poorly marked cetaceans (Karczmarski and Cockcroft 1998;Elliser et al 2022), these primary identifiable features display different patterns on the left and right sides of the animal. For that reason, DIS-COVERY offers options to verify new IDs by either a particular aspect (Fig.…”

Tourism-supported working lands sustain a growing jaguar population in the Colombian Llanos

“…However, wildlife tourism initiatives can have both positive and negative outcomes for wildlife populations 16 – 18 . The success of coexistence strategies like tourism requires understanding and quantifying such impacts 19 , and these strategies promote coexistence more effectively when accompanied by efforts to reduce livestock losses and conservation agreements 20 . Moreover, the presence of tourists with high-quality photography capabilities can have important, albeit underutilized, contributions to wildlife monitoring 21 .…”