Caught on Film
Posted on 17 December 2006
© WWF-Malaysia/Tiger Conservation Programme
Barking deer from a camera trap Royal Belum State Park
WWF-Malaysia recently has conducted a wildlife survey of Royal Belum State Park together with the Perak State Parks Corporation. The project team set camera traps in the field for some time. Any wildlife crossing in front of the infra-red sensors would trigger the camera. Film from the cameras was then recovered and developed to confirm the presence of certain animals in the area. Information obtained from camera-trapping will help in preparing the management plan for Royal Belum State Park.
Camera traps were placed at strategic spots such as ridges and saltlicks - frequently visited forest clearings containing mineral deposits that wildlife rely on to improve their diet. Wildlife detected using the camera traps were the barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak), sambar deer (Cervus unicolor), dusky leaf monkey (Presbytis obscura) and wild pig (Sus scrofa), among others. Future camera-trapping surveys may detect more interesting wildlife. Tracks of the regal Malayan tiger and the impressive seladang were spotted near our camera-traps. But they must have been camera shy!