NYT: You Should Get A Wildlife Cam

The New York Time’s absolute beginner’s guide to wildlife cameras (trail cams), with tips on how to set them up: Why You Need a Wildlife Camera.

Cameras can cost $500 or more, but for the beginning backyard camera-trapper, it’s not necessary to spend that much.

Likewise, skip the low end. “It’s probably better to spend a little more,” Ms. Naser said, “like $125 to $175 per camera, rather than the $50 models whose results won’t be as satisfying, and that aren’t as durable.”

Margaret Roach, New York Times
A bobcat in Massachusetts. Source: Sally Naser/CR Wildlife Cams – New York Times

Peptide Mass Fingerprinting for Mammal Identification

The Peabody Museum of Harvard University  announced a test of a recently developed technique that can identify the animals to family or species from  extremely small amounts of animal tissue (bone, skin, and other material containing collagen).

Peptide Mass Fingerprinting correctly identified 89 percent of the samples to at least the family level. For more information, see the Peabody Museum announcement.