For those who dedicated their professional careers to researching and protecting wildlife, their passion often doesn’t stop when they retire from the workforce.
That includes John Axtell, a former wildlife biologist who now sets up trail cameras throughout the mountains of Nevada. Although he’s stepped away from his career, the importance of his work is still alive and well.
Axtell spoke to The Dodo following a memorable experience he had after capturing images of a mountain lion on one of his many trail cameras. While browsing through several months’ worth of photos over the course of the summer, Axtell discovered that one particular mountain lion appeared to sit down in front of one of his cameras and strike a pose.
In his captured images, a curious mountain lion can be clearly seen investigating the camera. In one picture, the animal picks out a comfortable spot and plops down right in the center of the view.
“I have been doing this for six years and have 28 cameras,” Axtell said. “This is the only one that sat down.”
Over the course of his post-retirement hobby, Axtell has seen a wide assortment of species on camera. More often than not, animals will be disinterested in the cameras, but this particular mountain lion even leaned in for a closer look.
“That was kind of surprising,” added Axtell. “The water source is right there. I don’t know why she was staring at [the camera] so long.”
As noted by the Nevada Department of Wildlife, mountain lions are currently enjoying a healthy and widespread population throughout the state. But like most large wild cats, they often enjoy their solitary life and tend to avoid human activity.
While not every trail camera can offer such breathtaking footage, they can still provide a wide assortment of benefits for wildlife management and conservation efforts.
Researchers can use the camera as an effective tool for population monitoring and behavior observation without the need for constant human presence. This can go a long way in gauging the overall health of local ecosystems.
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