Videos and photos are instantaneously uploaded, thanks to a new wireless network infrastructure that covers almost the entire preserve – 1,200 acres in the Santa Cruz Mountains, 3 miles west of the Stanford campus.
Footage of skunks, possums, raccoons, mountain lions, deer, jackrabbits, hummingbirds, bobcats and many others sheds light on the wonderful biodiversity in the preserve.
"We are getting all of the types of animals that we expect to find in the area, including some that we don't often see in person, such as the gray fox, which is rarely seen in the daytime at Jasper Ridge," said Trevor Hebert, data manager at the biological preserve.
"The video cameras are giving us a picture of a world that we never see," he said.
Mostly, the cameras capture animals going about their regular nightly business, usually walking or running. "The typical skunk, coyote, bobcat, gray fox, possum, raccoon or rabbit seems to move at between a brisk walk and a jog almost constantly, at least when traveling," said Hebert.