Researchers thrilled as trail cameras capture rare species for first time in decades: 'This inspired us'

In recent years, trail cameras were used as a part of a study in Núi Chúa National Park in Vietnam to capture footage of rare and threatened birds and mammals. With this technology, researchers were able to reconnect with the silver-backed chevrotain — a species of mouse deer — for the first time in almost 30 years, per Mongabay. The study team also became fascinated by the variety of organisms showing up in their photos.

"This inspired us to look beyond the species level and investigate the ground-dwelling mammal and bird community in Núi Chúa," An Nguyen said in a news release via Mongabay. Nguyen served as a member of the survey team and is a doctoral candidate at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Germany.

The trail cameras allowed the researchers to observe 23 species of rare mammals and birds, including Malayan porcupines, Siamese fireback pheasants, and blue-rumped pittas. Notably, as Nguyen and his co-authors wrote in a paper recently published in the journal Biotropica, "diversity of ground-dwelling mammals and birds in [the] study site was highest in the transitional semi-dry forest ecotone … rather than in broadleaf wet evergreen forest, which tends to have the highest biodiversity at global scales."

Ecotones are transitional or boundary zones between distinct ecosystems. The co-authors pointed toward the potential significance of these in-between areas for observing and protecting vulnerable wildlife: "Our findings ... highlight the importance of considering ... fine-scale patterns to inform site-level conservation interventions."

Meanwhile, conservation biologist Tommaso Savini, who works in Thailand and was not a part of this study, told Mongabay that "while he agrees with the broad conclusions of the study, care must be taken not to overemphasize the importance of the semi-dry forest ecotone at Núi Chúa to the point that it could detract from managing the pressures that are limiting wildlife survival in the wet rainforest areas."

Savini noted that challenges to biodiversity in Vietnam have been partly attributed to the wide use of snaring, or hunting with wire. Usually intended to catch animals for bushmeat, snares can still trap all sorts of creatures. They are ubiquitous, posing a threat to the chevrotain among other wildlife, and can even be found in protected areas.

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A piece published in 2024 in Conservation Letters detailed how over 118,000 snares were removed from just two nature reserves in Vietnam between 2011 and 2021. The study concluded not only that "sustained snare removal" operations reduce snaring but that they must "be embedded within a more holistic and proactive framework that prevents snares from being set in the first place."

Supporting vulnerable species to maintain biodiversity is key to securing the global food supply and preventing disease spread, among other things. The study in Núi Chúa National Park shows that trail cameras can be one of the many tools used to understand these species and how to protect them while minimizing impacts on their fragile habitats. By placing trail cameras strategically, researchers can observe animals — or the lack of them — from afar and then apply learnings to protect wildlife.

Savini thinks it's possible, based on what has previously been done in Vietnam and Thailand, that people can reduce and remove snares at Núi Chúa.

"To do this, you need willingness from the government level," said Savini to Mongabay. "If you show there is something valuable, there is a higher chance that you can get better support."