UCAN Joins SnapShot USA
Snapshot USA project is a huge collaborative effort to sample mammal populations with camera traps across all of the United States in partnership with the Smithsonian Institutions and North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.
This project was a collaborative effort involving UCAN staff, students and volunteers, who collectively reviewed over 7,000 images taken at UCAN and organized them according to species timelines. Most activity occurred in November, with eastern gray squirrels most commonly seen, followed by white-tailed deer, eastern cottontails, and Virginia opossums. Raccoons and coyotes were also recorded.
UCAN participated in the 2024 field season of Snapshot USA’s Wildlife Insights project, contributing valuable data to this nationwide wildlife monitoring effort. Eight trail cameras were set up across the property to document wildlife activity throughout the fall season. Images were timestamped, uploaded to the Wildlife Insights platform, reviewed, edited, and identified by species.
The highest concentration of mammal detections occurred near the Little River, The highest number of detections occurred near the Little River, within the riparian zone, a critical habitat that offers water, cover, and foraging opportunities for mammals.
Thank you to the UCAN staff and board members—Lauren, Justin, and Mike—for leading this amazing initiative at the Catawba Trail Farm!
