SUNY ESF
Canid Camera

The New England cottontail is a unique part of our natural heritage in the northeastern United States, as the only native cottontail rabbit east of the Hudson River. The range-wide population of the species declined by over 86% in the last half century, due to loss of 'young' or early successional forest, upon which it is totally reliant. Attempts to save the species are complicated by the spread of a non-native competitor, the eastern cottontail, which was introduced into the Northeast by humans and now occupies most of the range of the New England cottontail.

Canid Camera is aimed at documenting the community ecology of early successional forest using trail cameras. Canid Camera helps us to understand how wildlife species found in young forest habitat respond to natural and human-created landscape change, including coyotes and other predators of New England cottontail. Donated funds support our equipment costs to purchase and maintain trailcams and other supplies for the project.