Gallery: Secret Lives of Wild Animals Captured by 1 Million Camera-Trap Images

  • Jaguar
    01

    jaguar-3

    Thanks to motion-triggered digital camera traps, scientists have a powerful tool for studying reclusive animals in remote, inaccessible areas -- and also for generating animated .gifs of gorillas scratching their stomachs. Okay, perpetually looping scratching gorillas aren't the point of camera-trap research. But they're a very fun byproduct, along with up-close-and-personal photographs of animals glimpsed in unguarded moments. The jaguar above, filmed in Peru's Manu National Park, represents the [1 millionth image](http://www.conservation.org/newsroom/pressreleases/Pages/Tropical-Forest-Health-in-Focus--World%E2%80%99s-Largest--Camera-Trap-Study-Reports-1,000,000th-Photo.aspx) gathered by camera traps belonging to the Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring Network. Managed by Conservation International, the network has [deployed camera traps](http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/366/1578/2703) across 16 sites in Asia, Africa and Latin America. At each site, the traps collect up to 60,000 images every year, a data deluge that's led to new statistical methods for [turning aggregated photos into rigorous assessments](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1574954111000549) of regional species health and biodiversity trends, or what they call an early-warning system for nature. The researchers hope camera traps will provide near-real-time feedback of changes that would otherwise take years or decades to quantify. On the following pages, Wired takes a tour of our favorite photos and animations from the project. __Above:__ Jaguar ------ Manu National Park, Peru.
  • Eastern gorilla
    02

    eastern-gorilla

    Eastern gorilla --------------- Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda.
  • Southern pigtailed macaque
    TEAM Network
    03

    southern-pig-tailed-macaque

    Southern pig-tailed macaque --------------------------- [![](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2013/02/pig-tailed_macaque2.jpg "pig-tailed_macaque2")](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2013/02/pig-tailed_macaque2.jpg) Pasoh Forest Reserve, Malaysia.
  • African forest elephant
    04

    african-forest-elephant

    African forest elephant ----------------------- [![](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2013/02/elephant2.jpg "African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana)")](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2013/02/elephant2.jpg) Nouabale Ndoki National Park, Republic of Congo.
  • Ocelot
    TEAM Network
    05

    ocelot-2

    Ocelot ------ Manaus, Brazil.
  • Chimpanzee
    06

    chimpanzee-3

    Chimpanzee ---------- [![](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2013/02/chimp1-ed.gif "chimp1-ed")](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2013/02/chimp1-ed.gif) Nouabale Ndoki National Park, Republic of Congo.
  • South American coati
    TEAM Network
    07

    south-american-coati

    South American coati -------------------- Caxiuana National Forest, Brazil.
  • Olive baboons
    08

    olive-baboons-2

    Olive baboons ------------- Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda.
  • Wild boar
    TEAM Network
    09

    wild-boar

    Wild Boar --------- Pasoh Forest Reserve, Malaysia.
  • Razorbilled curassow
    TEAM Network
    10

    razor-billed-curassow

    Razor-billed curassow --------------------- [![](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2013/02/razor-billed_curassow2.jpg "razor-billed_curassow2")](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2013/02/razor-billed_curassow2.jpg) Caxiuana National Forest, Brazil.
  • African palm civet
    11

    african-palm-civet-2

    African palm civet ------------------ Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda.
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