Alejandra Tanori García — above left, on an earlier trip planting native grasses — is one of our Path of the Jaguar interns this year. A few days ago she took on the task of installing a remote wildlife camera in Sonora’s Sierra del Espinazo Prieto (Dark Spine Mountains) for the first time.
How to choose a camera location amid such vast desert with sharp spines around every corner? We did our research and picked a spot where a small spring usually forms, and previously there have been sightings of foxes, skunks, and bats. Then we suited up for protection from the intense sun and all the prickly things.
Alejandra is currently studying biology at the University of Sonora in Hermosillo, and her area of interest is conservation. Monitoring wildlife is an essential part of the field. You have to know which animals live where, and you have to understand their behavior so you can better protect their habitat.
Through our internship this summer, which will take place from June 14 to July 26 in the general border area between Cananea and Naco, Alejandra and her 10 other cohorts will learn a variety of restoration techniques just like this. Stay tuned for more.
Think you’d like to do something similar with wildlife cameras?
Check out these volunteer opportunities with our Border Wildlife Study and FotoFauna.