Scientists put motion cameras along the US-Mexico border to spy on wildlife. The footage is spectacular — and telling.
Scientists put motion cameras along the US-Mexico border to spy on wildlife. The footage is spectacular — and telling.
Scientists put motion cameras along the US-Mexico border to spy on wildlife. The footage is spectacular — and telling.
The border wall between the US and Mexico is, of course, a barrier meant to prevent human migrants from crossing into America as they seek work, family, or refuge from violence.
It’s also a significant barrier to ranging wildlife.
The border wall, a centerpiece of President Donald Trump’s agenda, cuts through a rugged, unique ecosystem home to hundreds of native species, from jaguars and pumas to black bears and deer. These animals often need to move to survive, whether to find a source of water or a mate.
We know the wall is impassable for many species, potentially lowering their chance of survival. How exactly the border affects this rich ecosystem, however, has largely been a mystery.
A new study, among the first of its kind, finally offers some answers — by essentially spying on animals near the border. For the research, ecologist and lead author Ganesh Marín, then a doctoral researcher at the University of Arizona, set up 85 motion-sensing cameras in northeastern Sonora, Mexico, along and south of the US border in Arizona and New Mexico. Throughout the course of the research, when animals walked by, the cameras began recording.