Camera traps, installed in Land of the Leopard National Park, took a record-breaking number of photos of wild animals over the past 12 months. In all, 500 camera traps took 1.8 million pictures, the highest number in past 10 years,

Russia’s largest automatic camera trap network provides scientists with highly important data allowing them to count the rare animal population. The latest updates show that at least 125 Far Eastern leopards live in Russia; they rank among the rarest animals worldwide. Important images include male and female leopards sauntering past. From a series of photos, it is possible to find out how often males interact with the same females, how females choose their partners, and whether in a whole season they use to mate with only one and same male leopard.

Scientists are particularly interested in photos of females with cubs in order to collect as much information as possible on leopard breeding. Camera traps help track some animals from birth.

The management of Land of the Leopard National Park has been taking images of Far Eastern leopards since 2013. Experts install and check camera traps two times a year. This research makes it possible to study the unique animals without disturbing them.