Deployment Site One: Week Review

 During this week we have had a sound lure deployed at the river location described as 'deployment site one'.

While there was significant activity on the first day, there was a period of no incidents.  In the night prior to this there were a series of puzzelling interactions.   The camera was triggered at 2:00am and something appears to be approaching the recording area.   A series of motion captured photos are taken, but the area is blank. 

There is then considerable blocking of the camera in a series of photos for the next few minutes, including the photograph at the top and bottom.  It appears to be a possum that is climbing the tree that the camera is placed on. 

The camera in this instance is secured to a tree that is opposite the sound lure and is slightly downhill pointing towards it.  After this sustained and unknown activity (although I believe that the bottom photograph shows it was an animal with fur that climbed the tree) the camera reverted back to a normal vision and took regular shots, the photographs below are the before and after at the location.

Left: 1:00am activation prior to the two above photographs.   You can clearly see the trap box where the lure is located.   The sequence of photographs of the suspected brush tailed possum activation above then directly follow this.   This is an activation at 9:30pm on the camera, with time adjusted we know that this activation occcured at 10:30pm.

Left: The final 1:00am activation, the position of the camera has moved, and the difference seems to indicate repositioning of the camera.

On reviewing the site of the activation and the details of the activation, the height at which the camera was placed and other details, all this evidence strongly suggests that the animal was indeed a brush tailed possum

This trial has included the lure running on a single charge from a mains power location.  It has run for three and a half days (84 hours in duration) without the dropping of any of the sound quality.   The location is semi-shaded indicating that the lure will work for extended periods of time in this sort of location.

Also at this location this location is on the edge of a maize paddock in a rural area.   Council are trapping in the immediate area.  There are possums active in the area as well as rats and cats.

There is a further incident of note.   School started back on Wednesday.  On Thursday morning there was reports of a 'racoon' around the buildings at school.  Students (and staff member) went to investigatge and located a large Ferrret which was wandering around the school buildings.   While it could be coincidental it came from the staff car park - it could be a coincidence but the sound lure that was brought to school was fully operational and had been operating (emitting sound) from the teachers car in the car park.

Summation of Week One (January 2020) at Deployment Site One:

• Two Possums sighted on tracking camera - one interacts with lure.
• Two Rats sighted on tracking camera - one trapped in box.
• Device charged in mains power and lasts four and half days following charge