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Camera traps reveal three separated leopard groups in China’s Taihang Mountains

Research: Ecology, Behaviour · Conservation: Habitat protection

Leopards’ coat patterns can help researchers recognize individuals in camera-trap photographs. In China’s Taihang Mountains in Henan, researchers used images collected between 2017 and 2024 to identify 41 wild North China leopards, Panthera pardus japonensis. Following individuals over time revealed how they used the landscape and where their movements appeared to be separated.

Camera records allowed researchers to map detected movements for 18 leopards and estimate the home ranges—the areas individuals regularly use—of 17. Estimates varied widely: 1.63–29.09 km² in Jiyuan and 2.66–10.88 km² in Jiaozuo. Males generally had larger ranges than females. In Jiyuan, male ranges largely did not overlap; in Jiaozuo, they overlapped more. In both areas, all estimated female ranges fell within male ranges. These are estimates based on camera detections, not continuous tracking.

The records revealed three spatially separated groups: two in Jiyuan, on opposite sides of expressway S95, and one in Jiaozuo. No leopard was detected in both Jiyuan groups during monitoring. In the western part of Jiyuan, cameras recorded only five crossings of secondary road X012 over eight years. This pattern is consistent with infrastructure contributing to habitat fragmentation, although camera records alone cannot show that the roads caused the groups’ separation.

Researchers counted a co-appearance event when different leopards were detected at the same place or within 3 km of one another over 24 hours. These records suggest possible social interactions, but do not necessarily mean the animals met directly. In Jiyuan, females were recorded in all 14 co-appearance events, compared with males in 7. In Jiaozuo, males appeared in 10 of 11 events, compared with females in 4. These records offer a glimpse of leopard social relationships, including females appearing with their offspring, but do not capture every interaction.

Individual records can help conservationists monitor how leopards use the landscape and assess whether roads and other infrastructure may limit connections between groups. The findings provide a basis for further monitoring and conservation planning for North China leopards in the Taihang Mountains.

Sources and image credit

  1. A Lightweight Deep Neural Network for Individual Leopard Identification: Supporting Movement Ecology in the Taihang Mountains of HenanFull-text primary journal article with the publication date, study design, camera-trap analyses, results and authors’ interpretations.
  2. A Lightweight Deep Neural Network for Individual Leopard Identification: Supporting Movement Ecology in the Taihang Mountains of HenanBibliographic record and abstract corroborating the title, publication date, DOI, species and principal results.

Image: Samwalton9 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0. Representative photograph. · CC BY 4.0 · Source

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