Camera trap monitoring of snow leopards enables individual welfare assessment without the stress of capture and handling, advancing welfare-integrated conservation approaches.
Snow leopard monitoring welfare ethics favor non-invasive approaches wherever scientifically sufficient. Camera traps have proven capable of providing most of the conservation information previously requiring capture, at zero welfare cost to individual animals. The development of AI pattern-matching tools that rapidly identify individuals from thousands of camera images has made camera-based monitoring both feasible at scale and more informative than historical approaches. GPS collaring for movement ecology, where it remains necessary, should be evaluated against camera-based alternatives before defaulting to capture.