NEW YORK (December 30, 2014) – WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) released today ten favorite camera trap images of 2014 taken by its scientists from around the world. WCS uses camera traps as a non-invasive tool to estimate wildlife populations and species diversity in many of the wild places where it works.

PHOTOS (BELOW):

Photo One: A pronghorn strikes a stately pose in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem where WCS is studying the effects of exurban development on wildlife. CREDIT: WCS North America Program
Photo Two: A baby giant anteater hitches a ride on its mother’s back in Manu National Park, Peru, where WCS does landscape conservation work. CREDIT: SERNAP/WCS
Photo Three: An ocelot inspects a camera trap station in Manu National Park, Peru. CREDIT: SERNAP/WCS
Photo Four: A ghostly-looking polar bear checks out a muskoxen skull on Russia’s Wrangell Island where WCS collaborated with Russian scientists earlier this year. CREDIT: WCS/Joel Berger
Photo Five: A strolling leopard in India’s Bandipur Tiger Reserve seems to have a camera trap strapped to its back (it’s actually on a stand). CREDIT: WCS India
Photo Six: A brown fish owl decided to briefly touch down in India’s Bhadra Tiger Reserve. CREDIT: WCS India
Photo Seven: A curious sloth bear mother and its two cubs pay a visit in India’s Bhadra Tiger Reserve. CREDIT: WCS India
Photo Eight: A tiger and its curly-tailed cub on a stroll in India’s Bhadra Tiger Reserve where WCS has worked since the 1980s, and tiger numbers have rebounded. CREDIT: WCS India
Photo Nine: A muntjak takes a selfie in India’s Bhadra Tiger Reserve – tiger prey species have doubled in recent years due to good management. CREDIT: WCS India
Photo Ten: No, not a pink elephant, just a damaged camera trap after a forest elephant got through with it in Gabon’s Lope National Park in Central Africa. CREDIT: WCS Gabon

Bonus Video: A pair of curious otters inspect a camera trap in the Yukon