Camera Study Offers Greats Shots Of Wildlife In Foothills
LYONS, Colo. (CBS4) - Coloradans are learning more about what goes bump in the night thanks to a Colorado State University researcher.
Mountain lions scamper through the woods. Bears lumber down a game trail. All were caught on motion-activated cameras as part of a project to study bobcats west of Boulder.
"We know these wildlife species are out there but people just don't see them," Camera Study organizer Jesse Lewis said. "It just generates a lot of interest to see in a photograph just what is out there."
As part of the research project, Lewis set up 40 cameras on public open space west of Lyons and Boulder.
"They're taking a photograph anytime something moves in front of it," Lewis said.
Lewis is primarily interested in counting bobcats and understanding how they relate to other wildlife species.
"Ultimately we want to use that information to understand how bobcat density -- and how bobcats interact with other species -- influences the disease dynamics in bobcat populations."
His bobcat shots include a classic of a rabbit turned into a meal.
His cameras have already collected some fairly rare images like a spotted skunk. Another uncommon sighting was a tree climbing grey fox.
