LEOPARD LOUNGE
Part 1: Studying secretive cats
Leopards are by far the most elusive of all the big cats. There are a few places where they’ve become habituated to safari vehicles, but for the most part they do their best to stay out of sight. Researchers wanting to study leopards must resort to different methods of gathering data, and this is where technology has made a huge difference. Remote-sensing field cameras (camera traps) are becoming increasingly popular. Wildlife enthusiasts, researchers, game rangers, farmers and even anti-poaching units all make use of these effective and unobtrusive tools to see what animals (and sometimes people) get up to.
Initially, remote cameras were only used to photograph animals for aesthetic reasons. The first basic models date from the late 1800s: They used a baited tripwire system where the target animal would bite and pull on a lure that would mechanically trigger a film camera set up nearby.
A century later, in the 1980s, camera trap technology evolved rapidly – mostly driven by deer hunters who wanted “game cameras” to scout choice hunting sites.
Today, camera traps are used in various ways: for biological studies, to monitor human-wildlife conflict, for law enforcement, citizen science initiatives and education drives to name a few. Indeed, the camera trap has become an invaluable tool for scientific research, conservation and land management.
There are pros and cons. Cameras are at risk in the wild, subject to animal and environmental damage, theft and vandalism. If they malfunction, a significant amount of data can be lost; and setting them up wrong can have costly consequences. Each camera also samples a relatively small area.
But the benefits are legion: Camera traps are non-invasive; they have a negligible effect on animal behaviour and they have no observer bias. They can function for months without requiring attention, they work for species that can’t be studied using “traditional” means and they provide robust data. They’re like permanent fieldworkers, on duty day and night, come rain or shine. They’re non-selective, capturing everything that moves, thus allowing scientists to gather data about other species, too.
An added bonus is the educational and promotional value of the images they gather, which can be used to great effect by organisations and researchers.
Part 2 will be published in the April/May issue.
Follow the Cape Leopard Trust on Instagram: @capeleopardtrust