MOSAIC project research

Rare species caught on camera traps

The wealth and importance of the biodiversity of Quang Nam forests is well recognized. The scientific discovery of the saola, a long-horned bovid just a decade ago provoked international excitement and brought to world-wide attention the significance of the Annamites.

This was further underlined following the remarkable discovery of four more large mammals, all of which are likely to inhabit the forests of Quang Nam. Here in the wet tropical rainforests are concentrated more endemic species than on any other continental setting.

Still no one knows exactly how many tigers continue to roam these forests or even if the saola has managed to survive so rare is this elusive creature.

To assess more accurately the biodiversity of the forest of Quang Nam, the MOSAIC project has taken a two-pronged approach. In addition to working with ethnic communities and forestry officials to better protect the forests and manage them more sustainably, WWF is also deep in the jungle assessing the status of the wildlife and studying the threats to their survival.

Camera traps reveal the biodiversity of Quang Nam
One of the most effective ways of doing this is with camera traps which can capture on film the rare and often nocturnal creatures that inhabit these rainforests. Two types of cameras are used by the MOSAIC project: the Camtrakker, which detects heat and motion much like a burglar alarm; and the Trailmaster which takes a picture when its infra-red beam is broken.

The project has six of these Trailmasters but they haven’t been used as much as the Camtrakker because they are easy to steal. To prevent their theft, steel protection boxes are being built to house them. Eventually six of these will be used in the pilot community of Tabhing where they will be monitored and maintain by the village protect teams that patrol the forest. These are focused primarily on tigers, and the large-antlered and annamite muntjacs in the area, as part of the forest monitoring programme.