Images is on the coronary heart of exceptional discovery of a brand new cat species – even when it was science that delivered the definitive proof

You’ve in all probability heard the worldwide information {that a} new species of cat has been found, one thing that hasn’t occurred for over a century. And whereas it took years for the little feline to be formally acknowledged in a printed paper in Current Biology, to not point out state-of-the-art genomics, it’s good to know that pictures nonetheless had an enormous function to play within the investigation.

In reality, if it wasn’t for pictures, this new Bolivian species Leopardus tilcayo may nonetheless be undiscovered. While science actually performed its half, pictures is threaded all through this somewhat bushy little story.

Biologist and National Geographic Explorer Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz was quoted by National Geographic as taking “a hundred pictures,” when first encountering the wild cat in query at a sanctuary in Bolivia, and later utilizing {a photograph} of one other wild cat from a guidebook to find that the brand new specimen’s markings had been distinctive. From Nineteenth-century scientific illustrations to Paola’s preliminary pictures of the little tiger cat, imaging all the time has and continues to be a key element of zoology.

The digital camera lure

But photography isn’t the be-all and end-all. Digital Camera World publishes a lot of stories about photography’s role in both wildlife and marine life research and conservation, but photography can’t always produce the evidence researchers need, which is where scientific processes such as genomics come in.

Nogales-Ascarrunz et al.’s paper highlights the limitations of photography in relation to identifying wild cats, specifically camera traps, explaining: “Prevalent misidentification highlights a key limitation of camera trapping methods”.

But I certainly don’t take that to mean that camera traps are useless. Camera traps are particularly useful at capturing elusive animals in hard-to-access areas or areas that might be entirely off limits for parts of the year. If you’re interested in how professionals use camera traps to document wildlife, I highly recommend watching The Wild Ones on Apple TV+. This series follows a trio of specialists, including camera trap expert Declan Burley, in search of some of the world’s most elusive species. The program goes into great detail about Declan’s methods for maximizing camera traps.

Cameras for wildlife enthusiasts

If you’re a wildlife enthusiast first and a photographer second, the cameras that I always recommend are bridge cameras like the Nikon Coolpix P1100 and Sony RX10 V. These all-in-one cameras look like serious DSLR or mirrorless cameras, but have fixed lenses. The Nikon Coolpix P1100 grants you a monstrous 35mm equivalent focal length of 24-3000mm, while the Sony RX10 V packs 24-600mm. While the Nikon wins on reach, the Sony wins on image quality and autofocus.

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