‘Critter cams’ help NC residents – and scientists – learn what’s creeping around

Have you ever wondered what sort of creatures are wandering through your backyard when you’re not around? Do you fancy yourself as a bit of scientist? If so, now could be your chance to help local scientists map the distribution of North Carolina wildlife.

Chatham County resident Connie McAdams never planned on becoming a scientist after she retired, but when she heard about a study called “North Carolina Candid Critters” last fall, she thought, “I want to do that!”

“Candid Critters” launched in December via a partnership between the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, state Wildlife Resources Commission, N.C. State University and several hundred “citizen scientists.” Having started in the eastern part of the state, the program recently expanded to all 100 counties.

“It is an effort to work with the public to survey mammals across the entire state,” said Roland Kays, project leader and head of the Biodiversity Research Lab at the Museum of Natural Sciences. “We’re asking for volunteers to set these motion-sensitive cameras out in their woods, private property or on public property and record all of the animals that walk by.”

Volunteers check out motion-activated cameras, nicknamed “critter cams,” from local libraries for three-week deployments during which they capture photos of whatever, or whoever, passes the camera.

McAdams said it was curiosity that convinced her to volunteer with the study. “I live in a rural area. … I’ve seen animals and signs of animals, and I hear things in the woods. I just thought it was a great opportunity to document what was out there.”

The origins of these types of camera studies can be traced back to the 1890s when George Shiras III, referred to as the “father of wildlife photography,” set up cameras activated by trip wires to capture some of the earliest wildlife photos for National Geographic.

However, early camera technology prohibited scientists from conducting large scale studies like “Candid Critters.” It wasn’t until the transition to digital combined with enhanced battery technology that researchers were able to easily employ camera-traps for monitoring wildlife. Today’s camera-traps can collect up to 1,000 images before prompting a field visit by scientists.

Camera-traps have become useful tools because they are relatively inexpensive and allow 24/7 monitoring at multiple sites simultaneously. Because they are camouflaged with leaf covers, bark, netting and sometimes rock covers, the cameras create minimal disturbance for passing wildlife and allow scientists to spot rarely seen species.

Since the North Carolina survey started, volunteers have submitted photos of all sorts of critters, including bears, raccoons, squirrels, deer, chipmunks and coyotes. Kays said they collect the photos and convert them into data that are used to monitor the state’s mammal populations.

The study is also offering a glimpse of less common mammal species in the state.

“We’ve gotten some elk out in the west, which is kind of fun,” said Kays.

Elk are a recovering species in North Carolina after 52 were reintroduced into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 2001 and 2002. A number of feral hogs, which are destructive to crops and a threat to native wildlife, have also been documented. The study will help wildlife officials as they track and manage the ranges of both native and non-native species.

Arielle Parsons, eMammal Project Coordinator at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences said, “Currently we have about 800 people running cameras for the program at just under 1,000 different camera locations across 97 counties. This equates to over 300,000 pictures!”

Many of the submitted photos are featured at www.NCCandidCritters.org. Besides bragging rights and online fame, participants also receive rewards ranging from custom koozies to T-shirts.

Finding out what was roaming through her yard was the reward for McAdams, who made some exciting discoveries right after setting up her camera. “I got a bobcat,” said McAdams, “I didn’t know anybody that had ever seen one, I had never seen one, and there it was, right there on the camera.”

But there were times of defeat for McAdams too. After her initial three-week deployment, she relocated the camera to near a pond where she would watch a beaver dam. “I was really curious about seeing if I could capture activity around the beaver dam,” McAdams said.

The following day, she noticed the beavers had gnawed down a small tree right in front of the camera, but when she reviewed the photos, there was no beaver. McAdams chuckled, “That beaver managed to trigger the camera and then slip back into the water.”

Kays says that they have had a very good response from the public so far but notes that they are still recruiting citizen scientists. Over the next three years, they hope to record data from up to 30,000 sites, which would make it the largest-ever study of its kind. “Our challenge is that we’re trying to work in all 100 counties, so we’re trying to get a really good representative sample.”

Participation has been good in Wake County, where there is a waiting list for new volunteers, but participants are lacking from Graham, Tyrrell, Washington and a few other rural counties. Kays and his colleagues are trying to get the word out to these counties and recruit more people, especially as the fall approaches and they begin the “Fall Fawn Frenzy” survey of North Carolina white-tailed deer.

McAdams, who ran her camera for multiple deployments, is sad that her time as a citizen scientist will soon end but has enjoyed the experience, even if she wasn’t able to catch that beaver. “I live in the country, and I see a lot of wildlife. I don’t study it, I don’t really know a lot of scientific information, but it’s interesting to me.”

This story was originally published July 7, 2017 at 11:08 AM with the headline "‘Critter cams’ help NC residents – and scientists – learn what’s creeping around."