Camera Traps for Cats and Prey

Camera Traps for Cats and Prey

Project Animal(s) : Margay,Ocelot,Jaguarundi,Puma,Jaguar
Project Category : Mammals
Project Region : North America, South America
Project Type : Conservation
Project URL : http://osaconservation.org/projects/wildlife/osa-camera-trap-network/
Project is timebound? : No

Osa is one of the last landscapes in Central America that can still sustain the five species of wild cats in the region: Margay (Leopardus wiedii), Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), Jaguarundi (Puma yagouaroundi), Puma (Puma concolor), and Jaguar (Panthera onca).

Despite a relatively intact and healthy forest here in Osa, these cats face pressures such as:

  • habitat fragmentation
  • decrease of natural prey
  • increasing conflicts with humans and livestock

To better understand the conservation needs of wild cats and their prey, Osa Conservation created the Camera Trap Network for the Osa Peninsula in collaboration with National University of Costa Rica (UNA).  This monitoring program is comprised of camera traps placed on properties throughout the Osa Peninsula- ranging from Corcovado National Park, local eco-lodges, private landowners and Osa Conservation’s properties and Piedras Blancas National Park.

n 2017, Osa Conservation collaboratively hosted partners for the very first workshop of the Osa Camera Trap Network. The Network is now composed of more than 20 members in the Peninsula, including Corcovado and Piedras Blancas National Parks, the Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve and Private Reserves. Additionally, more members are expected to join the initiative – producing one of, if not the largest camera trap systems in Central America!

As part of the workshop, this Network identified several of the key priorities for 2018, including:

  • Estimating the current density of Jaguar in the Osa Peninsula.
  • Estimating abundance of terrestrial mammals among the different protected areas in the Osa Peninsula.
  • Identifying anthropogenic and environmental factors affecting the distribution and abundance of terrestrial mammals in the Osa Peninsula.
  • Evaluating the biological corridors in the Osa Peninsula.

Project Agency : OSA Conservation

Project Agency Contact : http://osaconservation.org/