Posts Tagged ‘video camera trap’
Wild Thailand Part One and Two
For the first time, a snarling tiger shows what their reaction is to a video cam with red LEDs when actuated at night. This male tiger is a resident at this location in the ‘Western Forest Complex’…a black leopard also passed the cam several times but did not actually look at the LEDs and so no reaction was recorded.
At the second location, the tigers did not seem too bothered by the red blob…! I now have a few cams including my Nikon D700 set-up here and hopefully will catch a tiger with my DSLR trail cam…!! Please enjoy these videos and even though they are a bit fuzzy, still show Thailand’s amazing natural heritage at its best.
‘Two ‘elephant-proof’ boxes
Custom made protective boxes for my Bushnell Trophy Cams
Finished boxes for my HD Bushnell Trophy Cams.
After using a couple commercial protective boxes with thin steel sheet metal and getting them bashed in by elephants, I thought it was about time to make-up some of my tough aluminum ‘elephant-proof ‘ boxes for my two 2012 HD Bushnell Trophy Cams. These are great little cams and I use mine exclusively on video as the HD clips are quite good but the photos only fair.
Tapping the 10mm threads.
First off, I got my welder to construct two boxes from 3mm thick plate aluminum and had him weld in some 1-1/2″ long aluminum octagon dowels in each corner. These would except 10mm ‘power torque’ machine screws. I machined the boxes flat and drilled and tapped the corners. The 6mm thick faceplate was installed and milled out for the sensor, lens and LEDs, plus a 10mm hole at the bottom for the mic.
Boring out the faceplate for the sensor.
Boring out the faceplate for the LEDs.
Milling out excess.
These boxes use two 3/8″ x 3″ stainless steel lag bolts from the inside for securing the box to the tree before putting the cam in and securing the faceplate. This alone keeps elephants at bay. The back is beefed-up with heavy duty plate and what I call ‘shark teeth’. A ‘Python’ locking cable is also installed for back-up.
Finished box in the raw.
These boxes have stood the test of time….! All my cams use this system. The tremendous power of Asia’s largest land mammal is nothing to sneeze at. They can tear them off the tree if only a cable is used. My close friend and fellow wildlife photographer, Paul Whitehead has lost quite a few cams already over in the East using only cables.
Back-end showing beefed-up holes and ‘shark teeth’.
Needless to say, I’m confident when I leave my cams in ‘elephant country’ using this system. Tomorrow I leave for the forest to set-up these two Bushnell’s in a new location in Huai Kha Khaeng, Thailand’s premier tiger country. I am hopeful that loads of good video footage will be forthcoming. Hope this helps those with elephant or bear problems. A welding and machine shop is of course needed for this job…! Good luck.
Newly finished box next to an older one.
Thailand’s mega-fauna caught on video
A Bushnell Trophy Cam set to video (IR capture at night) catches mega-fauna at night (wild elephant, gaur, banteng, sambar and Indochinese tiger) walking up a game trail in the heart of Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, a World Heritage Site situated in Western Thailand. Interestingly, a female tiger fitted with a radio collar is caught twice during the one month stint. All these animals are thriving very well in this amazing protected area, and is a tribute to Thailand’s natural heritage.
Chasing a Wild Dream
A video about Thailand’s Amazing Wildlife in the Western Forest Complex. From wild elephants to green peafowl, this film shows the world the wildlife in the Kingdom’s protected areas, and the need to save this wonderful natural heritage for present and future generations to come.
In the heart of Southeast Asia, the Kingdom is blessed with some of the best and last remaining examples of Asian animals and ecosystems that harbor the tiger, leopard, elephant, gaur, banteng, wild water buffalo, tapir, sambar, muntjac, gibbon, green peafowl, hornbill, plus thousands of other amazing creatures and biospheres that have evolved over millions of years and show-case Mother Nature and her magnificent beauty…!
HD Video Infrared Camera Trap
High-tech ‘homebrew’ video trail cam
A joint camera trap video program using a DXG 125r/1060/BF board-array video camera trap
Ron Davis DXG 125 video unit in a LBK elephant proof box
After seeing some of my posts, Ron Davis, a lawyer from Florida offered to send me an High Definition DXG 125R/BF board-array/IR/exchanger video unit housed in a Pelican 1060 (monster case) to put in Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary where I’m presently doing a camera trap (presence/absense) survey. I gladly accepted the offer and waited patiently for the unit.
Machining elephant proof box
I have been running three Bushnell Trophy Cams (2009 & 2011 models) and was getting some amazing clips of large mammals like elephant, gaur, banteng, tiger and tapir plus other creatures at night, but also in broad daylight that was quite a surprise. I plan to share these videos with the forum soon. Most Asian animals are nocturnal for their own safety and have evolved this way due to centuries of human poaching pressure.
Drilling out LED ports on elephant proof box
However, as this World Heritage Site is being look after much better than any other protected area in Thailand, and its biodiversity is tops, wild creatures are beginning to feel more at ease about showing themselves during the day. It is a fact they will propagate and move freely in the day if undisturbed for the most part.
Video unit and elephant proof box before camouflage paint
I never have had a big Pelican 1060 and when it arrived in the post, my immediate reaction was it would be quite visible in the forest, and is also quite heavy with all the components including a 12v battery to run the array. However, I went to work building an elephant proof security box from aluminum.
Video unit and elephant proof and ‘Python’ locking cable ready for the field
I got my Tig-welder to make it up and did all the machining required. It was just in the outer limits of travel on the table of my small milling machine but it was OK. I had to do some juggling but I got it done using precision drilling with a center drill first followed by a drill bit, a hole-cutter and milling cutter. The LED ports took awhile to get all 12 finished.
I then painted it with a new camouflage technique for me. Using four colors (black primer coat, then khaki, army green and earth brown in conjunction with bamboo leaves (idea from my friend Chris Wemmer – the Camera Trap Codger), I painted the box in succession until I was satisfied. It looked pretty good to me and it certainly would blend in with the surrounding vegetation.
Ron Davis/LBK video unit at a waterhole in Huai Kha Khaeng
I made my monthly trip on April 15th to the sanctuary and the first night set the unit over a really bad smelling bag of rotten chicken (a previous bait and two weeks old)…whew! This was quite close to the ranger station I always stay at and early the next morning about 4am, I heard an Asiatic jackal barking close to the cam that could possibly mean a leopard. The bait was gone the next morning but I did not check the files deciding to wait.
I then moved it to a very productive water hole where it is now. When I return from Africa, I will be going straight in to check all my traps including this unit. Can’t wait to see what it has captured and will of course share any videos later on this website. I would like to thank Ron Davis for the use of his video unit and let’s see what it gets.
Camera trap videos in Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary
Early in 2011, I set several camera traps and video units including a Bushnell Trophy Cam around a mineral deposit and water hole visited by wild animals including wild pig, banteng, sambar, tiger, gaur, peafowl and crab-eating mongoose plus more. This is a collection of video clips from the Bushnell captured over the course of one month from January to February.
Goral in Mae Lao-Mae Sae Wildlife Sanctaury – Northern Thailand
From June to August 2011, I set a Bushnell Trophy Cam on video mode at the top of ‘Mon Liem’ mountain in the sanctuary. After collecting the camera, many clips of goral were taken, both during the day and at night. This is just a few of those clips.
Asian tuskless bull elephant in Huai Kha Khaeng
A huge tuskless bull elephant at a mineral lick in Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary
This bull has been involved in a few close encounters with rangers, and actually killed one man while he was riding his motorcycle along the road in the sanctuary. These old elephants are to be avoided at all cost. I certainly stay out of their way when I’m working in this World Heritage Site which means slow and deliberate movement is essential and ears and eyes on high alert when walking through this forest.
Asian Wild Dogs in Mae Lao-Mae Sae Wildlife Sanctuary — Part One
This is my first video post on this website and there will be more to come
Asian wild dogs in Mae Lao-Mae Sae Wildlife Sanctuary, Chiang Mai province, Northern Thailand camera trapped by a Bushnell Trophy Cam
Please check it out.