Trail Cameras

Good news about rare wildlife sightings, baby animals, and conservation wins caught on trail cameras and camera traps

Less than 100 of these wildcats remain, but innovative conservation efforts spark hope

The Pampas grasslands, spanning southern Brazil, Uruguay, and northeastern Argentina, are home to a wildcat so rare that researchers consider it the most endangered of its kind in the Americas, and possibly the world.

A giant pangolin in desert sand. It is a massive scaly creature with a long tail, claws, and a slender snout.

Endangered 'walking pinecone' mammal spotted after 24 year absence

Conservationists thought that this massive, scaly creature was gone altogether in this West African country, until it was spotted on their trail cameras for the first time since 1999.

A healthy male jaguar captured on camera in Honduras’ Sierra del Merendón mountain range, the first documented there in a decade.

Rare big cat caught on camera in Honduras raises hope for conservation

For the first time in a decade, camera traps set up high in the Sierra del Merendón mountain range in Honduras captured images of an elusive big cat.

A man in a dark shirt holds a small electronic device and smiles at the camera in a dense tropical forest with green and brown vegetation surrounding him.

Researchers rejoice upon realizing their trail cameras captured footage of a bird that hasn't been documented in 140 years

The researchers, part of the Search for Lost Birds project, were overjoyed by their findings.

Trail camera picks up rare footage of swamp-dwelling 'fishing cat' with webbed toes

The vulnerable species is so rare that it “borders on myth.”

On the left, a black and white photograph displays a person standing outdoors in a wooded winter setting wearing a light-colored hat and dark jacket. On the right, an older person wearing a gray knit beanie and dark green shirt smiles at the camera.

Missing 70-year-old hiker rescued from remote island after being spotted on trail cameras

70-year-old Craig Berg’s hike through Isle Royale National Park turned into a survival story earlier this month.

An elephant walks through tall grass and sparse birch trees in a forested area.

368 farmers gave up part of their land so elephants could cross the valley safely. Trail cameras show 529 already have

The nearly 9-mile corridor links Tanzania's savanna to the Udzungwa Mountains, where up to 1,000 elephants climb steep rainforest slopes.

A spotted wild cat with distinctive facial markings and bright reflective eyes looks toward the camera in a nighttime infrared or thermal image. The animal's rosette-patterned coat is visible against dark vegetation in the background.

Trail cameras catch elusive, endangered ocelots using wildlife crossing in Texas

There are fewer than 100 wild ocelots left in the United States. Wildlife crossings may have saved them from extinction.

A black and white trail camera still image of a fisher, a weasel-like animal, with its eyes shining in the darkness of a forest trail.

This mammal vanished from Ohio nearly 200 years ago. Trail cameras just captured footage of it

The elusive creature has faced mounting threats across the country, but it had been entirely wiped out in Ohio for nearly 200 years.

A black and white photo of a mountain bongo on a trail camera

Experts thought this critically endangered species had vanished. Then, one was spotted on a trail camera

One of the conservationists working to protect the species called the sighting “huge news.”

Left: black and white trail camera footage of a ringtail standing up in the woods. Right: the same ringtail scurrying to the right of the frame

After rewilding success, trail cameras captured the return of one of the Pacific Northwest’s most elusive mammals

A rare ringtail was seen passing through a 405-acre property in Ashland, Oregon.

A rhinoceros stands on a muddy bank beside a stream surrounded by dense tropical vegetation including palm fronds and green foliage.

This photographer left trail cameras in a remote Kenyan forest for months. He uncovered a hidden 'wildlife highway'

Wildlife photographer Will Burrard-Lucas initially visited Maasai Mara to study its black rhino population. Then he found an oasis for all forest species.