Hidden cameras offer unique glimpse of animals in the wild
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — How does a bighorn sheep say "cheese?"
Some charismatic critters caught by motion-detecting wildlife cameras seem to know how to strike a pose. But it's not just show business. As these devices get ever smaller, cheaper and more reliable, scientists across the U.S. are using them to document elusive creatures like never before.
"There's no doubt — it is an incredible tool to acquire data on wildlife," said Grant Harris, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wildlife biologist based in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Remote cameras have photographed everything from small desert cats called ocelots to snow-loving lynx high in the Northern Rockies.