RARE ANIMAL PHOTOS: Giant Armadillo, Bush Dog, More

June 8, 2009--A male jaguar focuses on a camera trap as the device snaps his photo on April 27, 2008, in Peru's Amazon rain forest. The camera was one of 23 set up over 8.5 square miles (22 square kilometers) in a remote and unstudied region of the country's northeast as part of the Peruvian Amazon Biodiversity Project, run by the National Zoo's Center for Conservation Education and Sustainability in Washington, D.C. The project is investigating how wildlife--particularly a small feline called an ocelot--is being impacted by oil exploration by the Madrid-based petroleum company Repsol Exploracisn Peru. (See a map of the region.) So far, preliminary results suggest that ocelots and other big cats, including jaguars, have not been disrupted by exploration operations, said National Zoo research scientist Joe Kolowski. The project, which is funded by the oil company, is also recording the area's rare and elusive forest creatures. Between April and September 2008, Kolowski and colleagues captured at least 28 different species of mammals and 18 species of birds on film. (See more camera-trap photos taken recently in Ecuador.) Checking the camera every ten days was like "Christmas morning," Kolowski said. "There was a lot of anticipation and anxiety about what we would find  ." This particular jaguar--identifiable by his spot pattern--was photographed nine times at four separate camera stations, a pattern of movement that is not unusual for the wide-ranging predators, he said. --Christine Dell'Amore —Photograph courtesy Peruvian Amazon Biodiversity Project

A curious ocelot trails a nine-banded armadillo in an April 29, 2008, image captured by a camera trap in the remote reaches of northeastern Peru's Amazon rain forest. The armadillo likely wasn't on the menu: Ocelots usually go after small rodents, birds, and reptiles--and the cat would probably have had a hard time getting through the armadillo's tough armor. Camera-trap photographs of two animals interacting are rare, Kolowski said, "and give you some idea of what the animals are doing in the forest, which is always interesting." —Photograph courtesy Peruvian Amazon Biodiversity Project

A prized game bird, the Salvin's curassow (pictured above in an April 2008 camera-trap photo in northeastern Peru) is declining throughout the human-inhabited areas of its range, which also includes Colombia and eastern Ecuador. But the turkey-size bird seems to be doing well in areas without hunting pressures, such as in the secluded region of the Amazon where this photograph was taken. For the Peruvian Amazon Biodiversity Project, National Zoo researchers are using a new type of digital "trail" camera with sensors that register an animal's body heat and movement. The new digital cameras also store thousands of photos, so the scientists don't need to trek off-site to develop film. —Photograph courtesy Peruvian Amazon Biodiversity Project

The giant armadillo--snapped by a camera trap in northeastern Peru on June 8, 2008--can weigh up to 71 pounds (32 kilograms). The beasts use their enormous front claws to dig into termite and ant colonies. Easily hunted for their meat, the gentle giants are now scarcely seen throughout most of South America. Seeing photographs of such rain forest animals is important, because the images can help "people to realize what's out there in a place where they'll likely never be able to go and see for themselves," the National Zoo's Kolowski said. —Photograph courtesy Peruvian Amazon Biodiversity Project

The few studies done on the short-eared dog (photographed by a camera trap on May 4, 2008) have centered on its diet, which mostly consists of rodents and fruit. Many people don't realize two species of wild dog roam the Amazon rain forest, the National Zoo's Kolowski said, so these photos show people "animals that they know nothing about and may not [have] even thought existed." —Photograph courtesy Peruvian Amazon Biodiversity Project

An image of two rarely seen bush dogs taken on April 14, 2008 is perhaps the "most exciting" of all the camera-trap photos recovered so far as part of the National Zoo's Peruvian Amazon Biodiversity Project, Kolowski said. Almost nothing is known about this species, which is rarely seen even by indigenous people who live and hunt in the rain forest. "It's fascinating how elusive these guys can be," Kolowski said, adding that it's unusual for a large dog species to go unstudied for so long. What scientists do know is that the animals are social, Kolowski said. In both camera-trap photos that have been taken so far during the project, bush dogs appeared in pairs. —Photograph courtesy Peruvian Amazon Biodiversity Project

A collared peccary and her very young piglet get their photo taken as they pause for a rest in a remote area of northeastern Peru on August 18, 2008. In addition to counting species and estimating population numbers, camera-trap photos provide scientists with unusual insights into animal behavior, such when different species reproduce. For instance, scientists could estimate the age of the piglet in this photo and figure out when peccaries usually birth, Kolowski pointed out. The zoo researcher hopes the Peruvian Amazon Biodiversity Project will allow "people to see the huge diversity of animals that live in the Amazon," as well as make the public aware of some of the threats, such as hunting and habitat loss, that exist for these rare creatures. —Photograph courtesy Peruvian Amazon Biodiversity Project