Estimating puma densities from camera trapping across three study sites: Bolivia, Argentina, Belize

Kelly and colleagues estimated puma densities at multiple Latin American sites using camera-trap capture-recapture, confronting the challenge that pumas, unlike jaguars, have relatively uniform coats that make individual identification difficult. They identified animals using subtle features, scars, and body characteristics, and discussed the resulting uncertainty in matching. Comparing densities across contrasting habitats, the study contributed some of the early multi-site puma density data and highlighted the methodological limits of photographic identification for faintly marked cats. The work foreshadowed later interest in recognition-free and partial-identity methods for such species. It remains a notable reference for puma monitoring and for the broader problem of applying capture-recapture to felids whose coats lack distinctive, reliably matchable patterns.