Elusive rainforest animals seen on high-definition trail cameras in Congo. ‘Amazing’
High-definition trail cameras at a national park in the Republic of the Congo revealed a “truly breathtaking” glimpse of some elusive rainforest animals. Conservationists hope the project raises awareness about several at-risk mammal species.
Researchers spent over a year placing high-resolution trail cameras at various sites in Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park, the Wildlife Conservation Society said in a Feb. 25 news release. The project was led by Will Burrard-Lucas, “a specialist in high-definition camera-trapping.”
Burrard-Lucas said he placed the trail cameras based “on the knowledge and experience of researchers and trackers who had been studying the wildlife of the park for years,” and then waited.
The cameras ended up photographing several “charismatic but often rarely seen mammals,” the organization said. One photo shows a baby African forest elephant walking behind an adult. Another shows an African golden cat, a vulnerable species, pausing in a clearing and peering toward the camera.
“Tropical rainforests don’t give up their secrets easily,” Emma Stokes, the organization’s vice president, said in the release.
“You can spend years walking through these forests without seeing much of the extraordinary wildlife that lives there,” Stokes said. “That’s why it’s so rewarding to see these incredible images, to gradually unveil some of these secrets, and to better understand these forests to protect them.”
“For me, the ultimate thrill is to photograph predators,” Burrard-Lucas said, “and my dream was to get a shot of the apex predator in Nouabalé-Ndoki — a leopard. These cats are very secretive and almost impossible to see in the thick rainforest. … It was an incredible moment when I returned to one camera and found a photo of the most impressive male leopard I have ever seen!”
A photo shows the leopard walking through a rainforest path. Its tail is curled in an elegant spiral, and its eyes gaze straight ahead.
“These photos are amazing,” Seraphin Ngouna, a researcher at the park who helped maintain the trail cameras and an indigenous person born in the area’s rainforest, said in the release. “I am really happy that thanks to these cameras we are able to take pictures of the animals that are very difficult to spot.”
Another trail camera photographed a giant pangolin, an endangered mammal sought after for its scales.
“Will’s photos are truly breathtaking,” Sabine Plattner, the owner of a tourism company operating at the national park, said in the release. “He captures the animals of the forest beautifully, and it’s wonderful to see some of the rarer species that live in the Congo Basin.”
One photo shows an African forest buffalo, a near-threatened species, as it pauses next to a watering hole at night.
The trail cameras also photographed a porcupine, hog, civet, mongoose, mouse-deer also known as a chevrotain and several types of antelopes known as duikers.
“Using high-quality cameras and taking extraordinary photos of wildlife gives a better sense of what conservation is about,” the organization said. “(It) helps inspire a respect for and an appreciation of nature, and ultimately fosters a better connection with these elusive animals.”
Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park is in the northern Republic of the Congo, a central African country bordering Angola, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Gabon.
This story was originally published February 27, 2025 at 7:06 AM with the headline "Elusive rainforest animals seen on high-definition trail cameras in Congo. ‘Amazing’."
