Research overview: camera-trap methods for studying urban and edge felids

Camera traps, often paired with individual identification by coat patterns and spatial capture-recapture models, are a cornerstone method for studying secretive felids in human-dominated landscapes. This overview synthesises methodological practice for density estimation, occupancy, activity-pattern analysis and community surveys across urban gradients, from leopards in Mumbai to bobcats in suburbs and small cats in farmland. It examines sampling design challenges in fragmented, access-restricted urban settings, the integration of camera data with telemetry and genetics, and the role of citizen camera networks. The synthesis frames camera trapping as the workhorse technique generating much of the empirical basis for urban felid ecology.