Assessing tiger population dynamics using photographic capture-recapture sampling

This study moved camera-trap monitoring beyond single snapshots to open-population modeling, using repeated annual photographic surveys at Nagarahole to estimate survival, recruitment, and population growth of individually identified tigers. By applying robust-design capture-recapture, the authors quantified year-to-year demographic rates rather than just standing abundance, revealing a stable but dynamic population with high turnover masked by relatively constant numbers. The work demonstrated that long-term camera-trap programs can deliver the vital rates needed for population viability analysis and adaptive management. It set the standard for sustained, multi-year felid monitoring and showed why one-off density estimates can miss important demographic processes. The robust-design approach has since been widely adopted for tracking trends in threatened cat populations.