Puma Camera-Trap Detections Across Latin America with 12,312 Records

A collection of 12,312 puma (Puma concolor) detections from camera-trap surveys. The data was compiled by Omar Ohrens from over 200 contributors and Panthera's internal repository, covering over 1,169,563 camera trap nights across 19 countries from Mexico to Chile. Data is structured for occupancy modeling, with each row representing a camera-station and date, and includes geographic coordinates and a binary detection variable.

Use Cases

• Occupancy and distribution modeling based on the binary detection data and standardized survey format.
• Large-scale habitat suitability analysis based on the geographic coordinates spanning 19 countries.
• Assessing sampling effort and detection probability based on the metadata for over 1.1 million camera trap nights.
• Spatial analysis of puma populations based on the provided shapefile and JSON formats.

Strengths

• Contains 12,312 unique puma detections, providing a substantial sample for analysis.
• Covers a large geographic scale with data from 19 countries and over 1.1 million camera trap nights.
• Data underwent coordinate validation, date standardization, and removal of invalid records.
• Provided in multiple formats (.csv, .Rdata, .shp, JSON) for different analytical workflows.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Two datasets were excluded from public sharing, which may limit completeness.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Compiled from a network of over 200 contributors and Panthera's internal repository (PantheraIDS).

Collection Method

Data were compiled via systematic literature review, snowball sampling, and direct contributor solicitation in September 2020.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-13 04:11:06; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Latin America, spanning from northern Sonora, Mexico, to southern Patagonia, Chile, across 19 countries.