1. ADU
HOW TO SET UP A CAMERA TRAP
Megan Loftie-Eaton – Animal Demography Unit – University of Cape Town

2. If you enjoy wildlife documentaries or scientific articles, you've
probably seen still photos or video taken by "camera traps."
Remote cameras have been used for years by scientists studying
or documenting wildlife numbers and behaviour in difficult
terrain. A camera trap is just like an ordinary digital camera
except that it does not have a button to press to take a photo, it
is triggered by movement or heat from animals

3. There is one Animal Demography Unit project for which
camera traps play an absolutely crucial role and this is
MammalMAP.
MammalMAP is the Atlas of African Mammals. The aim
of MammalMAP is to update the distribution records for
all of Africa’s wild mammals – the small ones, the big
ones, the dry ones and the wet ones.
“Surely we know the distributions of Africa’s mammals?
These are flagships species for tourism in Africa.” Sadly,
the answer is “No” – the distributions are changing due
to habitat destruction and climate change. Developing
the 21st century distribution maps is filling a critical gap
in conservation needs.

4. Step one, of course, is to purchase a camera trap –  – there
are various brands and models of camera traps available.
You can follow this link
http://www.globalsupplies.co.za/index.php/accessories/other-
accessories/camera-traps
to find out more about which camera trap will work best for
you. If you mention “MammalMAP” to Global Supplies, this
company will give you a discount on your camera trap – 

5. Camera traps are great fun! Camera-trapping has proved to be a
very effective way of finding out which elusive and, especially,
nocturnal animals are in an area or on your property

6. It is very important to pick
the right site for your
camera trap. It helps to be
quite sure that an animal
will pass by the camera at
some stage

7. Well-used game paths, hiking trails, quiet jeep tracks, dry
watercourses and the bottom of ravines are all good places to
set up your camera traps

8. For close shots, like on game paths, at watering holes or
food sources set the camera up at no higher than waist
height (if you are focusing on smaller animals it is better
to set the camera up at a lower position)

9. If you are in an area
where elephants,
hyenas or large
predators occur, make
sure that your hands
are free from any
unusual or attractive
odours e.g. food,
perfumes etc. as this
might tempt these
animals to inspect the
source of the odour –
and they may just have
a pull or a bite at the
camera trap to see if its
to their liking

10. Another important factor to keep in mind is the direction of the
rising and setting sun. Occasionally when a subject triggers the
camera when it is pointed towards the sun as the sun is rising or
setting (typically heavy activity hours) this can lead to
overexposed or ‘washed-out’ pictures.

11. **Picture from Camera Traps CC

12. We would love to see your camera trap photos in
MammalMAP!
Make your photos count for conservation!! You
can submit your photos via the Virtual Museum
upload site at http://vmus.adu.org.za/ and here
is a slideshow that shows you exactly how to go
about doing this:
http://www.slideshare.net/meganloftieeaton/how-to-
submit-records-to-the-animal-demography-units-virtual-
museums-28710898