In an effort to better understand how the Vassar campus functions as wildlife habitat, motion activated trail cameras have been set up and will continue to be set up throughout the more natural areas of the campus and the preserve. In a simple sense, camera trapping can tell us what animals are where– for example, are bobcats only on the preserve, or might they use areas of campus, too? In a more advanced sense, we can model the probability of occupancy of different species of animals throughout the landscape, and analyze what factors might have a significant effect on that probability (like habitat type or proximity to roads). Stephen Kovari and Keri VanCamp. Contact us at vcnature@vassar.edu with any questions about the project!

We’ve had some good luck with getting bobcats on camera!