By Paul White
When we started monitoring wildlife using camera traps, we did so with the intention of learning more about the species that dwell within the forests of the Carpathian Mountains. For example, their number, direction of travel, but most important to us, their behaviour. On occasion, we also recorded individuals carrying injuries.
After several years of personal research and study, I started to notice that certain behaviours of one species overlapped with others. This became apparent when I kept one camera in a static position for a number of weeks, picking up several mammals passing the same point on a forest trail.
In the following merged video, focus on the overhanging branch. Unfortunately, it was dead and dried up and slowly made its way to the ground. I tried lifting it back up to continue my research, but it disintegrated on doing so.
I don't have definitive answers explaining this behaviour, only my opinion. Could it be that each species is interested solely in scent information related to their own species? e.g. looking for possible mates and/or detecting rivals. Or does it go further, e.g. are ungulates interested in the scent of predators and vice versa? My opinion is that it's a combination of these factors, with mammals using their powerful sense of smell to gather information, and communicate with each other in ways that we barely understand.
