[貼圖] Rare Antelope, Big Cats Caught by Camera Trap

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These photos only scratch the surface of how  RICH, valuable, irreplaceable, and beautiful this rainforest-resource is for the entire Earth. They have a big responsibility to LEARN how to be careful stewards so it is protected, utilized, and managed as a sustainable resource. Only then, will they have it ALL!



Jaw-Dropping Surprise
An African leopard in northern Kenya seems to be amazed by a camera trap in a recent picture. The big cat is one of several species spotted during a survey of the coastal Boni–Dodori forest, which lies between the Tana River and the Somali border.
Recent  security improvements allowed conservationists from the Zoological  Society of London (ZSL), the Kenyan Wildlife Service (KWS), Whitley  Wildlife Conservation Trust (WWCT), and National Museums of Kenya to set  up the camera trap survey in the largely inaccessible region.
The  traps captured plentiful images of a rare antelope—the Aders' duiker—as  well as shots of African wild dogs, elephants, and aardvarks, to name a  few. The Boni-Dodori forest had previously yielded other surprises,  including a potentially new species of elephant shrew announced in 2010.
However,  the wildlife-rich forest may quickly be lost as development and  agriculture sprout along the Kenyan coast, according to ZSL.



Elusive Antelope
Until  the recent camera trap surveys, the Aders' duiker (pictured) was  thought to live only in two shrinking forests—one in Zanzibar and  another elsewhere in Kenya. The antelope, classified as critically  endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, has declined from 5,000 to about 1,000 animals in the past two decades.
The  camera traps, which snapped roughly 3,300 pictures during the recent  survey, revealed the new Boni-Dodori duiker population to be the largest  known. Details of the discovery were published July 28 in the journal Oryx.
"This  population is a lifeline for the critically endangered antelope," ZSL  senior conservation biologist Rajan Amin said in a statement.
"Given  time and conservation action, we could unearth even more new species in  this isolated forest, but we are running out of time to stop the forest  and its hidden secrets from being destroyed by rapid coastal  development."



Prickly Character
The crested porcupine (pictured) was one of the more common species caught on camera in the Boni-Dodori forest.
The  region is also home to the indigenous Boni people, hunter-gatherers who  rely on the forest for survival. However, these peoples' numbers are  falling, going from a population of 20,000 in the 1950s to just 4,000  today, according to ZSL.



Monkeying Around
A troop of yellow baboons looks on curiously as a camera trap goes off in the Boni-Dodori forest in a recent picture.
For  the project, 52 camera traps were installed throughout 770 square miles  (2,000 square kilometers) of the Boni, Dodori, and Lunghi reserves  along the Kenyan coast.



Curious CaracalPhotograph courtesy ZSL
The caracal, a small cat species, is widespread throughout the African continent.
In  addition to the Aders' duiker, the recent survey uncovered populations  of three other forest antelopes—Harvey's duiker, suni, and blue  duiker—which previously were not known to occur in this part of Kenya.



Elephant on the Move
An African elephant strides through the forest in a recent camera-trap picture. In general,  the large mammal's range is getting smaller as people clear land for  agriculture and fell trees for charcoal, according to ZSL.
There  are also plans to build a railway, a new deepwater port, and an airport  on the nearby island of Lamu, all of which may further put stress on  Boni-Dodori's forest resources.



On the Prowl
African lions (seen in a recent camera trap picture) are listed as vulnerable by IUCN.
Though  the big cats still roam about 1.7 million square miles (4.5 million  square kilometers) of Africa, they're declining in number due to  indiscriminate killing in defense of life and livestock, coupled with  loss of prey.