WILD Blog 04
- Josh Selby
- Feb 26
- 3 min read
Trail Cams
What is a trail cam? Also known as camera traps, game cameras or wildlife cameras, these devices are cameras that are automatically triggered by movement, kind of like an outside light. They can be set to record video, photo or timelapses. They usually utilise night vision and are housed in small weatherproof boxes that can be attached to trees or tripods, running on batteries but able to observe for several months at a time.
Our trail cams are the best wildlife observing version of ourselves- silent, camouflaged, waterproof, quiet, not smelly, not bothered about sleep, as far as wildlife are concerned- they’re part of the forest furniture.
This brings many benefits to the footage they capture, the main one being that animals behave in a much more natural way when there isn’t a strange being near by. Over the years we’ve captured a Tasmanian devil cleaning it’s face with it’s licked paws, pademelons having a smooch at the bottom of our garden, possums riding their mother’s backs backwards and so many more behaviours that simply wouldn’t have happened with us being in their space.
These devices don’t only allow us to enjoy hours of wonderful footage, they help us to monitor as well. As we sit at home or sleep, our cameras are being continuously triggered by Tasmania’s nocturnal wildlife- one after the other, night after night, for up to three months at a time. This gives us vast records of information on what animals are passing through areas and when. They also tell us what animals aren’t in the area, and what animals have been introduced to an area- most predominantly feral cats in Tasmania, as well as foxes on the mainland- both often elusive when searching in person. All of these observations can be turned into data which can then be utilised to inform science- the benefits of which can be endless.
Though Kaylee had previously used them in her field research, it wasn’t until we moved to Tasmania that we got our own. We believed this was a better idea than us waiting in our car till the early hours of the morning (though that’s still fun to do occasionally) and have since never looked back.
I picked up our first trail cam from Anaconda for around $90 at the time. At this point it’s not the highest quality cam we have- but it absolutely did it’s job and gave us hours of information, learning and entertainment (I will never tire of watching possums do absolutely anything). We soon got a second one to allow us to broaden our captures. Nowadays we generally use our GardePro E8 and GardePro A60. These are closer to the $200+ range and it shows through their hardware and software. We haven’t had them for long but are absolutely thrilled with the image quality, and, which we have found to be really important- the sound recording quality as well. When looking for quality markers in your own trail cams, look out for video and photo quality (ie. 4K video and 64mp photos), how many PIR sensors they have (3 is a good number), weatherproof ratings such as IP68 waterproof, and their trigger response time- the quicker the better (our A60 is rated at 0.1 seconds) which means you’re less likely to miss that critter zooming by.
If you don’t have a trail cam- you still have an excellent chance at spotting wildlife in person, and in most cases it’s a more rewarding experience. You just need to be quiet, careful, patient, respectful and, of course, lucky. Otherwise you could also book a spot on our Night Walk Adventure!
Whether you get a trail cam for fun, curiosity or to contribute to citizen science, there’s no doubt that these devices make an excellent, accessible and rewarding hobby to compliment your in-person adventures.
Here’s some footage from our old Anaconda trail cam of a common brushtail possum mum and joey wondering through our garden.
Have fun!
Josh Selby, 26/02/2026
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