Camera traps exonerate endangered tapir blamed for crop damage in Honduras

Camera Traps in Honduras Exonerate an Endangered Species Blamed for Eating Crops | PetaPixel

Follow PetaPixel on YouTube

Follow PetaPixel on Facebook

Follow PetaPixel on X

Follow PetaPixel on Instagram

RSS Feed

Search PetaPixel

Type here what you are looking for

Camera traps are a hugely important tool in wildlife photography and conservation. As a new study in Honduras shows, camera traps can also be used to exonerate animals accused of destroying crops.

A new study in Neotropical Biology and Conservation shows that non-invasive technology — camera traps — can be used to solve "one of the most common challenges in wildlife conservation: identifying the species actually responsible for crop damage." As EurekaAlert! explains in a news release, many humans living near forests regularly contend with wildlife venturing into their agricultural fields and eating their crops. These interactions can often lead to increased conflict and tension between people and animals, which is especially harmful to wildlife, which often faces hunting and habitat loss as a result.

In the Indigenous Miskitu community in Mavita in eastern Honduras, local people have "long reported losses in their cassava fields, locally known as yucales." Most of the residents believed that Baird’s tapir (Tapirus bairdii), an endangered species and the largest land mammal in Central America, was responsible for the damage and losses. Residents also thought that pacas (Cuniculus paca) and armadillos (Dasypus mexicanus) were accomplices. Solar-powered LED motion-sensor light interacting with female Tapirus bairdii (A), male Tapirus bairdii (B), and Sylvilagus hondurensis (C).

But was the endangered tapir really the culprit? To find out, researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) set up camera traps with solar-powered, motion-activated LEDs across a 10-hectare cassava field. The researchers hoped to document precisely which animals were visiting crops and determine if a lighting system could protect the vegetables. Throughout two months of monitoring, the camera traps recorded seven different mammals visiting the cassava fields, including ocelots, jaguarundis, opossums, rabbits, and yes, tapirs. Solar-powered LED motion-sensor light interacting with Herpailurus yagouaroundi (above) and Dasyprocta punctata (below). Solar-powered LED motion-sensor light interacting with Leopardus wiedii (above) and Didelphis marsupialis (below). The most frequent visitor was not the Baird’s tapir, as residents suspected, but the Honduran cottontail rabbit (Sylvilagus hondurensis, which locals did not even realize visited their crops at all. "Many conservation conflicts begin with assumptions. Without evidence, it is easy to blame large and conspicuous animals," says research lead author Manfredo Turcios-Casco. "Camera traps allowed us to identify which species were truly interacting with the crops and helped us separate perception from reality."

"What surprised me most was discovering that the species most frequently blamed by local people was not the one causing most of the crop interactions," Turcios-Casco adds. Image credits: Turcios-Casco et al., 2026. Wildlife Conservation Society.

News

animals, cameratraps, centralamerica, conservation, honduras, nature, science, tapir, wildlife

PetaPixel articles may include affiliate links; if you buy something through such a link, PetaPixel may earn a commission.

Love PetaPixel? Go Premium.

PetaPixel is the world’s largest independent photography publication and we’re only able to continue our work with your help. Become a PetaPixel Member now and support our mission to bring you regular, high-quality reviews, features, news, and more.

Remove banner ads

Gain access to full-resolution RAW and JPEG Sample Galleries

Get 5% off orders from KEH.com

Get a $15 coupon to spend at Moment

Get 10% off lighting equipment from FJ Westcott

Get 10% off film development, scanning, and printing from Blue Moon Camera and Machine

Camera Traps Capture the Largest-Ever Photo Study of Amazon Wildlife

How AI Camera Traps are Protecting Gabon Wildlife from Poachers

These Rare Wildlife Photos Were Captured with Five Canon DSLR Camera Traps

Camera Trap Captures Rare Photos of Critically Endangered Malayan Tiger

Discussion

Load Comments

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.

-->

Become a Member

Become a PetaPixel Member and access our content ad-free.

Subscribe Now

Camera traps exonerate endangered tapir blamed for crop damage in Honduras

Related Articles

(no title)

Is AI ruining our skills? Early results are in – and they're not good

The Anatomy of an AI-Native Org

Apertus – Open Foundation Model for Sovereign AI

Italy's Meloni says Trump 'made up' story that she 'begged' him for photo at G7