Critter Cams
Snow leopard in camera trap, Pakistan (credit: Fathul Bari/University of Chitral)
Camera traps, often referred to as 'critter cams', are very useful tools to quietly monitor wildlife, their populations, and behavior. The small, remotely set, electronic devices have become essential tools for wildlife ecologists and conservation agencies to determine a species status and also to protect rare animals from poachers. The motion-triggered cameras can be deployed in any location even the most remote spots on Earth. The Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan, bordering Pakistan, China, and Tajikistan, is one such location. A cam was installed in the region to try and observe the status of a small population of snow leopards that still remains in this western portion of the Himalayas. These large leopards are one of rarest big cats on Earth. A solo snow leopard walked by one night was caught by the camera for wildlife biologists at a university in Pakistan.
Video cams are widely used in the USA for many purposes. One exciting example has been to show that jaguars have begun extending the range northwards from Mexico into southern Arizona, where they once existed. The biodiversity and re-wilding foundation, Cuenca Los Ojos, taped a young male jaguar not previously known about who was barely three miles south of the, now-halted, wall being constructed along US/Mexico border. The jaguar was observed wandering a wetland (riparian) corridor in Sonora. He was tracked on lands managed by the Foundation that had been set aside to preserve and restore biodiversity there over the last 30 years. The cat was given the name, El Bonito (the pretty one). It is good to see wildlife conservation happening in regions more known for less positive activities. WHB