Animals caught on camera in Lake County forests
The cameras have been removed for the season, but the photographic evidence they revealed is both charming and educational.
Animals, some with a "caught in the act" expressions, are among hundreds of images produced for an ongoing study of Lake County wildlife.
"They put a smooth pit of sand and in the middle they use a vial of predator urine and it brings in all these critters," explained Allison Frederick, an environmental communications specialist with the Lake County Forest Preserve District.
Last fall, the district as part of a broader wildlife monitoring program installed 10 cameras at four locations: Grainger Woods Conservation Preserve and MacArthur Woods near Mettawa; Lakewood Forest Preserve near Wauconda; and Spring Bluff Forest Preserve near Winthrop Harbor.
"They're not Webcams. Basically, they're remote detecting infrared cameras. They use infrared to detect heat and they also detect movement," said Tim Preuss, wildlife biologist with the district.
The program serves several purposes, including giving researchers a handle on what species exist at different locations.
The cameras, which were in place until the end of October, were monitored every day.
It's too early in the process to make any conclusions, Preuss said, but the long-term goal is to determine population trends - is a given species declining at a certain site, for example.
"The other objective is the attempt to detect species that are little bit more rare," Preuss said.
An example would be the gray fox, which is on the state's endangered species list. None were photographed, but wildlife afficionados are on alert.
"People are on the lookout for gray foxes in general," said Frederick. "They're supposed to be here but they're so elusive."
Preuss said the big picture also includes ongoing surveys of birds, butterflies, reptiles and amphibians.
"In the long run, how is the management of the preserves impacting the wildlife," and vice-versa, he said.
The information also helps land managers as they plan for restoration efforts.
Frederick said would like to put the candid wildlife photos to more immediate use.
"My hope is to make this a more interactive thing," she said.
"I want to go beyond the monitoring and do something fun for kids on our Web site."
Stay tuned at lcfpd.org.