Feb 20, 2013 6:30 AM

Gallery: Secret Lives of Wild Animals Captured by 1 Million Camera-Trap Images

01
jaguar-3
Thanks to motion-triggered digital camera traps, scientists have a powerful tool for studying reclusive animals in remote, inaccessible areas -- and also for generating animated .gifs of gorillas scratching their stomachs. Okay, perpetually looping scratching gorillas aren't the point of camera-trap research. But they're a very fun byproduct, along with up-close-and-personal photographs of animals glimpsed in unguarded moments. The jaguar above, filmed in Peru's Manu National Park, represents the [1 millionth image](http://www.conservation.org/newsroom/pressreleases/Pages/Tropical-Forest-Health-in-Focus--World%E2%80%99s-Largest--Camera-Trap-Study-Reports-1,000,000th-Photo.aspx) gathered by camera traps belonging to the Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring Network. Managed by Conservation International, the network has [deployed camera traps](http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/366/1578/2703) across 16 sites in Asia, Africa and Latin America. At each site, the traps collect up to 60,000 images every year, a data deluge that's led to new statistical methods for [turning aggregated photos into rigorous assessments](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1574954111000549) of regional species health and biodiversity trends, or what they call an early-warning system for nature. The researchers hope camera traps will provide near-real-time feedback of changes that would otherwise take years or decades to quantify. On the following pages, Wired takes a tour of our favorite photos and animations from the project. __Above:__ Jaguar ------ Manu National Park, Peru.
02
eastern-gorilla
Eastern gorilla --------------- Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda.

TEAM Network
03
southern-pig-tailed-macaque
Southern pig-tailed macaque --------------------------- [![](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2013/02/pig-tailed_macaque2.jpg "pig-tailed_macaque2")](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2013/02/pig-tailed_macaque2.jpg) Pasoh Forest Reserve, Malaysia.
04
african-forest-elephant
African forest elephant ----------------------- [![](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2013/02/elephant2.jpg "African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana)")](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2013/02/elephant2.jpg) Nouabale Ndoki National Park, Republic of Congo.

TEAM Network
05
ocelot-2
Ocelot ------ Manaus, Brazil.
06
chimpanzee-3
Chimpanzee ---------- [![](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2013/02/chimp1-ed.gif "chimp1-ed")](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2013/02/chimp1-ed.gif) Nouabale Ndoki National Park, Republic of Congo.

TEAM Network
07
south-american-coati
South American coati -------------------- Caxiuana National Forest, Brazil.
08
olive-baboons-2
Olive baboons ------------- Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda.

TEAM Network
09
wild-boar
Wild Boar --------- Pasoh Forest Reserve, Malaysia.
TEAM Network
10
razor-billed-curassow
Razor-billed curassow --------------------- [![](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2013/02/razor-billed_curassow2.jpg "razor-billed_curassow2")](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2013/02/razor-billed_curassow2.jpg) Caxiuana National Forest, Brazil.

11
african-palm-civet-2
African palm civet ------------------ Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda.

Spooky New Infostealer Malware Uses AI to ‘Autodox’ Victims

Named “Volta-Autodoxer,” the recently uncovered malware uses AI tools to collect troves of data about victims, from login credentials and credit card numbers to Discord sessions and UberEats receipts.

Lily Hay Newman

Light Up Your Home Like Christmas With These Smart String Lights

Glow up your home indoors or out with these versatile, discounted, full color smart string lights. They’re WIRED-tested and 25 percent off right now.

Simon Hill

There’s a Completely New Type of Whisky. It’s French and Made in Concrete Eggs

The founders of Maison Lineti are, in a world first, making single malt whisky as if it were wine—and the spirit world is mighty impressed.

Jeremy White

Power Outages Are No Match for This Fridge Battery

Backup by BioLite is designed to power your fridge when the grid goes down. It works, but protecting your ice cream doesn’t come cheap.

Christopher Null

Meta’s Muse Could Upend All Kinds of Businesses. It Hasn’t Yet

Companies have spent the past several weeks trying to reassure investors that Muse and other AI agents pose more of an opportunity than a threat.

Paresh Dave

Get Bose QC Headphones at Their Lowest Price Ever

They’re a steal at over 40 percent off in multiple colors. Plus, other great Bose deals you should know about ahead of Black Friday.

Harry Rabinowitz

An AI Agent Injected Drugs Into a Live Mouse’s Brain

A biotech startup let an agent choose a gene therapy and successfully inject the treatment, offering a startling glimpse of the future of research labs.

Emily Mullin

The Keurig Alta Brewer Can Do It All, With No Plastic Pods

This multifaceted home coffee brewer and its new AltaRounds will make you rethink everything you know about Keurig machines.

Louryn Strampe

Are Memories Transferable? Meet the Scientists Replicating an Infamous Study to Find Out

In the 1960’s, an odd experiment showed planarian worms could transfer memories by consuming each other. It was a sensational finding—that is until the worms stopped learning.

Claire L. Evans

Sunrise Alarm Clocks to Help You Adjust to Shorter Days

I’ve never been a morning person. This bedside gadget is the only thing that’s ever changed that.

Nena Farrell

White Dwarfs Aren’t Just White. Scientists Discover Dying Stars Turning Pink and Green

Astronomers find that a white dwarf’s density and the kind of material it absorbed from its surroundings can produce a rainbow of shades in the star’s atmosphere.

Petr Kubala