Camera Trapping Project Expansion

I thought I would take a moment and update my progress on my camera-trapping project.

I managed to get out today and get a second 35mm game camera deployed. The location of Camera 2 is quite a bit more remote than the location for Camera 1. If you recall, the location of Camera 1 was a direct result of a conversation I had with a witness who claimed to have seen a large, long-tailed, tawny colored cat cross the road at that location. Camera 2 is located about 20 miles farther west. The area features bluffs, cliffs, caves, one major river, several live creeks, and acres of heavily wooded land. I am very excited about the specific camera location. It seems ideal and, hopefully, will yield that big cat photo I'm after. Some pictures of the general camera vicinity are below.







I also managed to pull the film from Camera 1, reload it, and refresh the batteries. Thanks to the magic of 1 hour photo developing I have already seen the latest pictures. Again, no cats of any kind. I did get a nice series of shots of a yearling doe entering the field of view and then bounding away. See these images below.







I also got the picture below. I have no idea what it is. I'm guessing raccoon but a guess is really all it is.




Once again, I got several shots of scenery only. We did have some storms come through in the last week or so that may have caused some swaying of the trees in front of the camera. This can sometimes trigger the shutter. It is probable that the camera simply triggered too slowly on a couple of occasions and missed whatever animal activated it. That is just the way it goes with these old cameras. Still, overall, I like what I'm seeing.

I now have two cameras deployed and have three to go. I am hoping to get the third one out soon, possibly tomorrow. I already have an area in mind for this one. Hopefully, the more cameras the better shot I have of catching one of the big cats people have reported in our area.