Throughout 2017, the “AmazonCam” research project at the Tambopata-Bahuaja Biodiversity Reserve project installed more than 100 camera traps to monitor wildlife. A key aim of the Tambopata project is to facilitate biodiversity research in the protected area, which, as some of the most pristine primary forest in the world, is an internationally recognised ‘biodiversity hotspot’.
A camera trap is a remotely activated camera with a motion or infrared sensor. These cameras are installed in the rainforest (or other wilderness) to capture wildlife on camera when researchers are not present. They are used to record critical data about wildlife, their habitats and habits.
This project monitors the canopy where half of all rainforest animals reside, as well as the forest floor. The research area of around 300 km2 between the Tambopata National Reserve and the Bahuaja Sonene National Park is now the largest permanent study in South America and the cameras are active throughout the year.
One of the objectives of the camera traps is to capture, through photos and videos, the mammals that are in the protected area. So far there have been records of jaguars, pumas, giant armadillos, a dwarf porcupine and, to the surprise of the researchers, the first record of a short-eared dog has been obtained, carrying its young from its burrow.
This project, led by San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research and Rainforest Expeditions SAC, is being supported by our implementing partner on the ground, AIDER. As a result, we are gaining valuable data for monitoring the 30 species of high conservation value that have been identified as part of the Tambopata forest carbon project, which has received a Gold distinction for biodiversity as part of the Climate, Community and Biodiversity standard certification.
The “AmazonCam” project is highlighting the incredible array of animals native to – and reliant upon – this ecosystem. We need your help to protect it.
