Browning Trail Camera and Nocturnal Visitors

Zweizwei Pans

Drifting off to sleep while camping in the African bush is a highlight of any safari (for me at least). The camp is quiet and the nocturnal animals are now active.  In the distance a lion roars and closer to camp a hyena howls.  An elephant snaps a tree branch.  A Scops owl calls.  Even though everyone is asleep, the camp is still an active place.

The downside of actually sleeping is missing the activity of the many nocturnal animals.  I was curious to discover what animals wandered into camp at night so on this recent safari I brought along a trail camera.  These are motion detecting cameras and will take a photo (or video) of the animal that triggers the sensor.  This seemed the perfect solution to see what animals were visiting our camp while I slept.

After a significant amount of research I bought the latest Browning Spec Ops XR.  This trail camera captures 10 MP still images and short (up to 2 min) videos.  It also has an infrared LED flash so it doesn’t emit a blinding flash that could scare or disturb the animal.  The daylight photos are in color and the nighttime photos in black and white.  The camera is small (5 x 4 x 2.5”), light weight, and take 8 AA batteries.  It also has various shooting modes like time lapse or rapid fire (will take 2-4 images only 0.3 sec apart).

However the feature that clinched the deal is the small playback screen.  I wasn’t planning on bringing my laptop on safari, so how could I review the images to determine if the camera was working, if I had set it up correctly (too high or too low on a tree) and delete images to save space? The 2” color LCD screen plays back images and videos and displays info like battery life and number of images/videos taken.  In the morning I could review all the images and delete those I didn’t want (quite a few of these).  The screen shows a live image of what the camera sees and can help in getting the correct position.  The problem I found is if you’re looking straight at the camera your face fills the display screen and you can’t see where the camera is pointing.  Looking at the screen from an angle seemed to solve this problem though the sunlight reflecting off the display screen made it difficult to determine the area the camera was seeing.

On our first night in the bush we were camped near Xakanaxa in the Moremi Game Reserve.  The site was beautiful, set among trees near a large waterhole.  A perfect place to try out the camera.  The first night I set it up near the camp kitchen in hopes of capturing a hyena sniffing around for food.  The next morning I had over 200 images!  But as I scrolled through them all were of the camp staff prepping breakfast.  First lesson learned.  I had set the camera to the Rapid fire mode so every time someone moved it recorded 4 images.

Primates captured in the kitchen

The next night I set the camera at the perimeter of camp facing down the access road.  It was fully dark so I grabbed my headlamp and told my clients (enjoying the campfire and their gin and tonics) to come look for me if I wasn’t back in 10 min.  I hardly walked 50’ when my light picked up a pair of eyes.  I quickly retreated back to the fire and sheepishly asked our guide to come with me.  Turns out it was only a small genet (a harmless, cat-like animal with a beautiful spotted coat and long tail).  We set up the camera but only had a few images the next morning.  A few were taken around 3am but with no visible animal.  Something must have walked by at the edge of the sensor’s range and triggered the camera.  Second lesson learned: bring multiple cameras.  That night we had a leopard wander through camp, a hippo grazing near our tents, and an elephant feeding nearby but the camera missed all of it.

We spent the next few nights at the Kwai River Community Campsite, on the border of Moremi.  The Kwai area has abundant wildlife but it’s a public campsite.  Other groups were camped near us so I wasn’t sure if many animals would wander into our camp.  I strapped the camera to a small tree about 20’ from my tent.  The next morning I had an image of hyena ears and a close-up of an elephant. Lesson Three: big animals will walk near your tent at night and you’ll never know it!

Hyena close-up, Kwai

From Kwai we drove to our next site: Zweizwei Pans in Chobe National Park.  This site was spectacular.  Very remote and set in a grassy area with large trees next to a waterhole with a resident hippo.  On the far side of the waterhole a herd of elephants came down to drink.  Classic Africa.  That night I set up the camera near the edge of the waterhole.  The tree I used was covered in hippo dung so I thought I would get some great shots of the hippo as it left the water to graze (hoping I wouldn't discover the camera covered in hippo dung the next morning).  Lots of wildlife here!  Yet the next morning there was nothing on the camera.

Chobe River Campsite

That morning a herd of Cape buffalo came to drink in the same spots the elephants used the evening before.  I set the camera on the opposite shore of the waterhole, along the path the buffalo and elephants used.  I was concerned the elephants would smell the camera and destroy it but 24 hours later I had some excellent images of the elephants coming to drink at night.

The final site was at the far western end of the Chobe River, a campsite overlooking the river.  During the day hundreds of zebra and other antelope grazed on the flood plains and in the evening migrated past the camp into the hills.  I positioned the camera facing where I hoped the animals would pass. No images were captured that night so I tried a different area.  On our last morning of the safari I did get a few images of elephants returning from the river.  The camera also recorded the coldest night of the trip, a chilly 34 F.

Though the I only have photos of elephants (and one hyena) my first attempt at using a trail camera was certainly worthwhile.  To get interesting photos takes some luck and some trial and error in determining where to place the camera.  In many campsites the availability of the right size tree determined where I could set up the camera.  If trees were too big (or too small) I couldn't secure the camera.  The Chobe River site, for example,  had no decent sized trees so I was limited to using an old stump.

A trail camera is relatively inexpensive and is a great addition to the standard camera gear.  It's interesting to look at the campsite from the perspective of an animal and try to figure out where to place the camera.  With any luck the camera will reveal some of the animals that have wandered through the camp while you slept.

On second thought, may it's better not to know a lion was walking around your tent at 3am...

Zweizwei Pans

Osher (Ilead) Trip Summary

Bull elephant, Moremi Game Reserve

A group of 6 intrepid Osher members recently returned from our mobile camping safari through the spectacular game parks of Botswana.  The Osher Institute of Lifelong Learning is located on the Dartmouth College campus in Hanover, NH.  Osher provides continuing education for residents of the Upper Valley area.  Our safari was the travel section of my Spring 2014 course: “An African Adventure: The Wildlife of Botswana”.  We spent 12 days exploring Moremi Game Reserve and Chobe National Park, finally ending in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

The focus of our safari was on wildlife and learning about the conservation issues surrounding Africa’s wildlife and people.  During our journey we experienced a seemingly endless variety of African wildlife and birds.  We were surrounded by a breeding herd of elephant as they came to the river to drink, we witnessed thousands of Cape buffalo and zebra grazing on the floodplains, and watched Spotted hyenas and vultures feeding on a baby elephant carcass.  Lions were sighted sleeping in the shade and we saw large numbers of giraffe, hippos, antelopes, and warthogs.  We were even fortunate enough to see leopards and rare African Wild Dogs.

Full days were spent exploring the bush, searching for game, and observing wildlife.  We slept under canvas in the remote bush in private, unfenced campsites.  During the night animals would wander freely through the camp, including leopard, hyena, and elephants.  One night we could hear a hippo grazing near our tents!  The camp staff prepared delicious meals including bread baked fresh over the campfire.

Resting lions, Savute, Chobe National Park

 In Maun, we visited the Bana Ba Letsatsi Children Center which offers a place of safety for orphans and vulnerable children. The Center provides support in the form of education, skills training, meals, and medical attention.  As part of his Cameras for Conservation initiative, our guide, Steve Stockhall, takes children from the Center on camping safaris in neighboring Moremi Game Reserve.  These children lack the resources to visit the game parks in their own backyard and by using donated cameras the kids can record their experience while learning about wildlife and conservation.

Our group also had lectures by wildlife researchers who are actively trying to conserve Botswana’s wildlife.  Dominik Bauer, project leader of the University of Oxford’s Botswana Lion Corridor Project, discussed his current research on the movement of lions between Botswana and neighboring Zimbabwe.  Using a combination of the ancient tracking skills of Bushmen and modern, high-tech radio collars, Dominic and his group can monitor the dispersal of lions between protected areas. 

Spotted hyena feeding on baby elephant carcass, Moremi Game Reserve

 Geoff Gilfillan and Jessica Vitale, PhD students with the Botswana Predator Conservation Trust, spoke to us about their work on the conservation of African Wild Dogs, among the rarest of African carnivores.   We learned about a project to create artificial territorial boundaries that will keep African Wild Dogs safely inside the borders of protected conservation areas.  Solar powered radio collars with advanced GPS are used to follow movements in and out of protected areas.

Our safari was a wonderful opportunity to observe and learn about Africa’s rich collection of wildlife as well as the challenging conservation issues facing Botswana.  Throughout our journey, we were immersed in the daily rhythms of the African bush and enjoyed a unique experience of this vast continent.

Back from Botswana

Apologies for the lack of postings in the past year....However I'm just back from an incredible camping safari in Botswana.  I led a group from the Osher Institute of Lifelong Learning at Dartmouth (formerly ILEAD, based at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH).  We spent 14 days exploring the game parks of northern Botswana and meeting with wildlife researchers to learn about their efforts to conserve Botswana's wildlife.

I'm in the process of remaking my website and will also be posting a short trip report.  Hopefully I can return to posting more regularly.  Until then, here's a photo of a visitor we had in camp.  I brought a trail camera on safari and set it up each night to see what came prowling around during the night.