NC Candid Critters

Fall 2018 Newsletter

The Fall Season is Complete!

Candid Critters citizen scientists have done a great job deploying cameras and capturing wildlife photos across the state! With your help, we have provided important information about local wildlife’s whereabouts for scientists all over North Carolina to use.

So, what have we seen from the fall deployments thus far? For one, here are the top ten animals spotted on our camera traps this season:

The top ten species detected on Candid Critters camera traps in fall 2019.

A total of 57 camera trappers have deployed 160 cameras this fall! Based on current submissions (keep uploading your fall photos!), these traps have taken 388 observations of 13 species across the state, including this adorable fawn!

White-tailed deer fawn, Chatham County, August 2019

If you would like to see everything our camera traps have found, eMammal allows you to download data from the project here, or you can view Candid Critters’ favorite photos on our project’s Best Pictures Page.

NC Candid Critters Project: Short Break

We are approaching the end of our initial 3-year camera trapping project awash with fantastic data, amazing photos, and a lot of ideas of how to improve the project.  We are looking forward to continuing the project, but are going to take a pause to analyze what data we have and reflect on how to make things better. We will soon be sending out a survey to get your thoughts, and will be sharing the results of our analyses over the next few months.

In the meantime, NC Candid Critters will be taking a short break from data collection. Therefore, we need all cameras returned to libraries as soon as possible. If you have any issues with returning your cameras, please let us know.

The project will resume next year, and we will inform you on this process as it progresses. Until then, we hope to release information about some of the results we have found on the wildlife across the state, so don't forget to check your email for project updates!

Thank you all for the time and effort you have put into this project - we would not be here without you!

Please return ALL cameras to the library!

What’s New in Critter Country?

Our Project Findings have been posted! 

Candid Critters has posted an interactive graph  summarizing what we found on our citizen scientists’ camera traps over the years. North Carolina’s Candid Critters has obtained over 1.9 million photos of 90,347 animal detections from 3,917 camera traps. Our wildlife surveys have captured rare and endangered species, intriguing animal interactions, and enough data for scientists to learn about where wildlife populations can be found throughout the state.

In the graphic, you can choose from a species list to learn about how NC Candid Critters has captured the animal’s presence and activity throughout the state, and to see some of the amazing pictures captured of the species! You can discover the Project Findings at this link here: https://www.nccandidcritters.org/project-findings/ 

Reminders

Please upload all remaining deployments to eMammal!

Please return ALL cameras to the library!

Critter Catwalk!

Take a look at some of our favorite photos from this season!

Northern raccoon, Pender County, September 2019

Fox squirrel, Brunswick County, August 2019

Pigs, Cleveland County, August 2019

Coyote, Brunswick County, August 2019

Roland’s Quiz

Wild Turkey Through the Seasons

If you were to ask the average American what they would consider the Thanksgiving Day Mascot, everyone would likely say the turkey. In fact, many people refer to Thanksgiving Day as “Turkey Day”. Wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) can be found across North Carolina, and Candid Critters has observed this species 4,407 times on our camera traps (see map of turkey observations below). It is believed that wild turkeys were also plentiful in the past, with many Pilgrim and Native American documentations commenting on the numerous nature of native turkey populations. This may be one of the reasons why the species became such a prevalent food source for Americans and the staple Thanksgiving centerpiece of today.

Of course, wildlife numbers don’t always stay the same throughout the year, and often fluctuate depending on the season. Some animals have difficulty surviving through the winter, leading to low spring populations. Contrastingly, right after a species’ breeding season is when you can see populations boom. During what season do you think turkey populations are the greatest? Do you think we see an increase, decrease, or lack of change in the turkey population in the fall?

Do you think we see more or fewer turkeys in the fall? Check the last section of the newsletter to find the answer!

Citizen Science Spotlight: Everyone!

Students volunteering for Candid Critters.

This season, we want to recognize ALL of our volunteers that have made this project possible! Whether you were a super volunteer or just set a camera trap once or twice, we greatly appreciate the time and effort you have provided to help us understand wildlife across the state.

We look forward to working with every single one of you when Candid Critters relaunches sometime next year. In the meantime, please let us know if there is anything we can do for you, and we wish you the very best!

About the Project

North Carolina’s Candid Critters is a three-year statewide camera trap survey made possible by a collaboration between NC State University, NC Museum of Natural Sciences, NC Wildlife Resources Commission, State Library of NC, NC Cardinal, Public Libraries of North Carolina, and Smithsonian.

Funding for the NC Candid Critter Program was partially provided through a Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Grant. The purpose of this Act was to provide funding for the selection, restoration, rehabilitation and improvement of wildlife habitat, wildlife management research, and the distribution of information produced by the projects. Funds are derived from an 11% Federal excise tax on sporting arms, ammunition, and archery equipment, and a 10% tax on handguns. The program requires the state (NC Wildlife Resources Commission) to cover at least 25% of the project costs; the Grant provides the remaining 75% of the project expenses.

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Northern raccoons, Watauga County 

Thanks again to all of our wonderful citizen scientists!

Roland's Quiz Answers

Do you think we see more or fewer turkeys around Turkey Day? Interestingly, we observe turkeys most often on our cameras in the fall[1], right around Thanksgiving (see graph below). This is likely a result of a large annual increase in turkey numbers that happens each summer from reproduction[1]. Turkeys breed in the spring, and hens hatch their poults early in the summer[1]. By the time fall hits, the population is greatly increased. This increase could also be a result of an abundance of food, such as berries and mast (tree seeds). During these months, turkeys spend a lot of time foraging, and move around a lot to get as much food as they can before the winter months hit. 

Turkey observations on Candid Critters camera traps over time. We see turkeys more often in the fall than any other time of year, most likely because of increased activity.

Turkey numbers increasing in the fall means they are readily available for Thanksgiving meals. However, today, many people obtain their Thanksgiving birds from farmed sources sold at their local grocery. Others are now even turning towards a vegetarian or vegan diet, which allow consumers to lower their environmental impact by decreasing their carbon output, water use, and ecological footprints[2]. If you’d like to lower your own environmental impact, consider having a vegetarian or vegan holiday season! Bon Appetit has a thorough list of delicious meatless alternatives listed on their website here. 

What do you usually eat on Thanksgiving? Would you ever consider going meatless? Let us know what you think!

Sources:

1. Christopher D. Kreh, Upland Game Bird Biologist, The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
2. Rosi, A., Mena, P., Pellegrini, N., Turroni, S., Neviani, E., Ferrocino, I., ... & Maddock, J. (2017). Environmental impact of omnivorous, ovo-lacto-vegetarian, and vegan diet. Scientific reports, 7(1), 6105.

Thanks for reading!

White-tailed deer, Craven County

North Carolina's Candid Critters

11 W. Jones St, Raleigh, NC 27601

www.NCCandidCritters.org

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