The Amur leopard is the world's rarest wild cat with fewer than 120 individuals surviving in the Russian Far East and China, making every individual's welfare and survival critical to species persistence.
Every individual Amur leopard represents a significant fraction of the entire species' population - the welfare of each animal matters at the species level in a way almost unique in conservation. Individual deaths from poaching, vehicle strikes, or territory conflict are population-level events. Inbreeding reduces immune function and reproductive success, creating welfare challenges in surviving individuals. The monitoring capability provided by camera traps enables welfare assessment of known individuals over time, documenting aging, injury, and reproductive status for a species on the very edge of extinction.