Is camera trapping helping us to fill knowledge gaps related to the conservation of wild mammals?

•Camera trapping is an increasingly popular mammal monitoring technique.•We lack assessments on how the spatial distribution of camera trapping efforts responds to knowledge gaps.•There is a poor relationship between camera trapping studies and areas with high species richness and threat of mammals.•Coordinated efforts are needed to take full advantage of camera trapping to increase its impact on mammal conservation.