The world’s most versatile wild cat, the leopard Panthera pardus fusca, was photocaptured for the first time in Gwalior Forest Division, Madhya Pradesh, India. We confirm the presence of the Indian leopard, detected on deployed camera traps during an opportunistic camera trap survey.

Although common leopard Panthera pardus is copiously found across India, their behavioural ecology still remains partially unknown potentially due to their secretive nature. Here, we report an observation from Jawai, Rajasthan, India, of two female leopards mating with the dominant male leopard simultaneously while tolerating each other's presence.

The rusty-spotted cat, Prionailurus rubiginosus, is a vulnerable species, endemic to India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The goal of the study is to provide an overview of the current distribution of rusty-spotted cat in Odisha state through a camera trap survey. This study presents a new camera trap record of rusty-spotted cat in Hadgarh Wildlife Sanctuary, Odisha, India.

Recent conservation efforts have reversed the declining trend of tiger Panthera tigris populations in the Indian subcontinent. However, tiger habitats, which were highly disturbed and far from the source populations, struggled to achieve this feat. Here, we presented the first photographic evidence of tigers recorded from a recent camera trapping survey in Suhelwa Wildlife Sanctuary (India), which lost its tiger population in the recent past. One of the tigers photo-captured in Suhelwa was recorded in Banke National Park of Nepal in 2018. This transboundary dispersal event highlighted the importance of conserving connectivity between tiger habitats in order to facilitate the recovery of tigers in the landscape. Immediate conservation investments are required in Suhelwa to control human disturbance, create inviolate space for tigers, revive the prey base and strengthen protection. Transboundary conservation efforts between India and Nepal are required to secure the long-term persistence of tigers in the central Terai Arc Landscape.

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A fishing cat Prionailurus viverrinus camera trapped feeding on a checkered keelback freshwater snake Xenochrophis piscator is probably the first documentation of such feeding behaviour in a freshwater habitat. The site, on the banks of a river originating in the Eastern Ghats hill ranges along the north east coast of Andhra Pradesh state, India, is within a largely human-dominated landscape. Local fish populations seem high suggesting that capture of non-fish items is not a ‘second best’ choice. The record beckons the need for more ecological research.

The marbled cat Pardofelis marmorata is an elusive cat species in Asia. There is little information available on their ecological status in India. We captured the first photographic evidence of Marbled cat in Murlen National Park, Mizoram.

This study presents the first ever camera trap record of fishing cat Prionailurus viverrinus in Nandhaur Wildlife Sanctuary and second record from Uttarakhand state of India. This record will help filling a distributional gap of the fishing cat in the Terai Arc. Systematic intensive camera trapping exercises are required to provide crucial information on the distribution of the species and also establish baseline data.

Riparian, hilly, trans-border mixed-evergreens of eastern Bangladesh and Tripura, India, present an uncharted territory where carnivore research is non-existent. To address the issue, in 2018–2019 and 2020–2021, we conducted camera-trapping in three reserve forests that also hold protected areas, PAs: Raghunandan Hill Reserve (RHR, category II PA), Tarap Hill Reserve (THR, category IV PA and Key Biodiversity Area), and West Bhanugach Reserve (WBR, category II PA). We surveyed RHR in both rounds; THR and WBR in 2020–21. Herein, by sampling for 4,216 trap nights, we present our observations on the movement of the leopard cat Prionailurus bengalensis. We obtained 128 notionally independent capture events of the species (99 in RHF, 28in THR, 1 in WBR; 56 in 2018–2019, 72 in 2020–2021); of which, 16 capture events (8 in RHF, 8 in THR) were of mother-and-cubs. We made an inter-site comparison, also compared the activities of single individuals to that of mother-and-cubs. In RHR, we observed cats’ responses to human activity and free-roaming livestock. Altogether, the cat appeared nocturnal with a bimodal crepuscular activity peak. We observed diurnal activities (13:30–16:00 h); however, mother-and-cubs exhibited strict avoidance. In 2020–21, anthropogenic movement skyrocketed in RHR; in response, the cat reduced its activity at dawn and showed a night-time peak. This work is the second only on leopard cats in Bangladesh, and a first in the region. The finding, despite showcasing breeding populations, is a testament to man-made impacts on small cats. We suggest a yearly camera-trapping programme, and a curb on anthropogenic movement as eastern forests are subject to heavy, unmonitored usage.

We used camera traps in Taksha Park Range to conduct a survey of the clouded leopard Neofelis nebulosa and other small wild cats from 2019 to 2020. We recorded tiger Panthera tigris at 3,050 m between Gangtey-Phobji Ramsar site and Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park JSWNP in western Bhutan. The camera trap record is significant as the presence of tiger in the area was previously supported only by pugmark and scat observations. Besides being a wetland of international importance, it also echoes the importance habitat for endangered large cats tiger, near threatened birds black-necked crane Grus nigricollis and other wildlife species. Based on our findings, we recommend a detailed survey of tigers and other cat species in Gantey-Phobji Ramsar site and its buffer areas.

Marbled cats Pardofelis marmorata are notoriously elusive and difficult to detect with camera trapping surveys, possibly due to their arboreal behaviours. Here, we review available published literature on camera trapping surveys within their range over the past two decades which successfully detected the species, with the inclusion of records from our own camera-trapping surveys from Pu Mat National Park, Vietnam. We describe challenges in detectability, and recommend that to optimize their detectability, future monitoring efforts of the species should focus on targeted camera trapping locations surrounding lowland broadleaf forest edges with stations spaced ~1 km apart and with at least 72–90 trap night effort per camera, or to explore other alternatives of detection such as environmental DNA (eDNA) or invertebrate-derived DNA (iDNA).

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Tables T1 and T2

We documented the presence of leopard cats Prionailurus bengalensis for the first time in Ningxia Helan Mountain National Nature Reserve NHMNNR, China in a valley featuring semi-arid shrub and open Ulmus glaucescens forest. The records extend the known range of leopard cats to encompass the Helan Mountains and indicate their adaptability to the arid and semi-arid areas of northwestern China. We recommend extensive surveys to further assess the population status of leopard cats, and how they compete and coexist with other sympatric small carnivores, including stray dogs and cats.

The use of accelerometers ACC combined with Global Positioning System GPS collars has enhanced our knowledge of animal movement and ecology. In a studyof leopard cats, Prionailurus bengalensis, in the Kinabatangan floodplain (Sabah, Malaysian Borneo), we were able to detect the death of a collared animal in the field with greater precision after the collar was found shortly after deployment. Here, we review the events around mortality of a collared leopard cat using ACC-informed GPS technology as an investigative tool.

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Table T1

We report two new records of Pantanal cat Leopardus braccatus from the Beni department of Bolivia. These records confirm the recent presence of the species at the edge of its distribution and help clarify its geographic range in the country, which is still poorly known.

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Two female jaguars Panthera onca were recorded scavenging on a common bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus carcass on 24 May 2021 in Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica. This is the second record of jaguars scavenging on a marine dolphin in America. Our findings provide further insights into the opportunistic scavenging behaviours of jaguars.

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Table T1

Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx was never extirpated in the territory of the Baltic states, and has always been a common game species in Latvia. End of 2021, the supervising forestry and game management authority placed a complete ban on lynx hunting, and additional legislative amendments were introduced in 2022, prescribing full lynx protection in the future. In this article, we provide a brief review of previous population monitoring and conservation activities, evidence-based assessment of population status, a historical overview about national and international political processes affecting attitudes and management tools, as well as future challenges regarding the implemented hunting ban from the perspective of population level conservation goals and considering existing experience from other countries.

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Table T1