Welcome to Princeton Wildlife
We have been monitoring Princeton's wildlife using trail cameras since 2020. The project received generous support from Princeton's Office of Sustainability (https://sustain.princeton.edu/). The overall goals of the project were to i) understand the local fauna: species, occurrence rates, behavior, ii) bring awareness of Princeton's ecologically sensitive environment, and iii) educate our campus population on the prevalence of wildlife on campus.
The trail cameras are triggered by changes in the infrared emission in front of the camera, i.e., a moving "warm" object, such as an animal walking past. We programmed the cameras to take 30-second videos so we can not only see the wildlife but also observe their behavior. At the beginning of the project, we operated 16 such cameras. Due to the weather and a series of unfortunate events, the number of cameras dwindled to only two. For example, one camera was washed away along with the "host" tree by Hurricane Ida in 2021. Another camera was struck by a direct lightning bolt in a tree, running through the bark and the camera. Nevertheless, over many years, we collected tens of thousands of videos. Sorting these through is still in progress. A selection of highlights is presented on this page with links to the main youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjSiiBIrFWB9BF2AsSKUGRg).
The video materials also supported the thesis of Reema Choueiri, titled "Deer Oh Deer: Seasonal Diet Variation In Northeastern White-Tailed Deer", under the advising and mentorship of Dr. Robert Pringle and Joel Abraham.
The approximate location of wildlife trail cameras on Princeton's campus. The precise locations are not public.