02/06/2026
Footprint for May 2026
Wildlife conservation is highly complex because it requires balancing unpredictable natural systems with deeply entrenched human interests. Conservationists face severe financial, social, and physical hurdles daily. The Wangdue Forest Division in Bhutan covers a critical geographic "footprint" that serves as an essential transboundary biological corridor for endangered species, linking low-altitude foothills to high-altitude alpine zones.
The primary objective of camera trapping in Bhutan is to map, monitor, and protect iconic flagship species—such as the Musk deer and Takin—across the country's rugged terrains. Because these animals are highly elusive, nocturnal, or live in inaccessible mountain forests, camera traps act as the "eyes" of conservationists.
The installation of 17 cameras across the Wangdue Range is a highly strategic field setup designed to establish an accurate population census of elusive wildlife, particularly the Musk deer(Moschus chrysogaster), which is classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and Takin(Budorcas taxicolor), the national animal of Bhutan, is also globally classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Managing 17 active stations in the rugged, high-altitude terrain of the Wangdue Forest Division presents unique operational steps and conservation goals. Based on standard forestry protocols, a 17-camera network is mapped out across specific 5×5 km grid cells to ensure uniform coverage without creating massive blind spots in the range.
Forest Rangers have been hiking for days through extreme elevation changes, dense undergrowth, and unpredictable weather to retrieve the SD card safely. Compiling the raw image data from 17 camera traps is in process.
