If you have been following PeaceParks.TV this year, you will have already seen some of the fascinating wildlife footage that camera traps capture. The covert, automatic camera ‘stations’, which blend seamlessly into the natural environment, are an invaluable, low-cost technological tool that conservationists and scientists use to track animals and get a glimpse of animal behaviour in remote locations. Recreationally, Peace Parks staff living in the bush use them to see what their wildlife neighbours are up to when they’re not around!
A camera tracking project was undertaken in May this year to determine the presence of lions in an area formerly inhabited by humans in the central region of Limpopo National Park. In the past, there was known to be high degrees of conflict between livestock farmers and lions in the area, so it was in the best interests of the park’s staff to see how the new lion arrivals roamed around and behaved in the area.
In collaboration with Mozambique’s National Administration for Conservation Areas (ANAC), the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), and the Lion Recovery Fund, a grid of camera traps was laid out over roughly 60 000 hectares and left for a period of 30 days. The camera traps enabled the collaboration of partners not only to monitor lion movement but also to get an insight into the abundance and incredible diversity of wildlife in the park, including large and small predators, from leopard, wild dog, and cheetah to serval and caracal.
Elsewhere, in 2020, Peace Parks’ Ernst Beyleveld, Law Enforcement Operations Manager at Banhine National Park, effectively used camera traps to get a clearer picture of the wildlife status within this area. He deployed them strategically and captured footage of a leopard, which was the first photographic evidence of this species in Banhine in more than two decades.
Collaborations with dedicated and trusted partners, with the provision of both manpower and expertise, are key to carrying out such a large-scale project that enables important wildlife monitoring research. This research helps protect both people and wildlife, helping to secure the future of Limpopo National Park.
Visit Limpopo National Park on the Peace Parks website today to see all the impactful work we are doing to secure the future of Limpopo National Park and how you can witness the park’s incredible wildlife diversity.
