Our most common wild animal? Here's what the camera traps tell us

Researchers noted deer, lots of deer, and nearly nothing else

Camera traps are remote operated tools primarily purposed with recording wildlife (mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians) while minimising disturbance — the ones in Wicklow captured lots of deer

Researchers installed 'camera traps' at various locations in Wicklow to see what kind of wildlife would pass by. The cameras were hidden at 20 sites among trees as part of a simultaneous survey across Europe, #SnapshotEurope, which was launched in 2021. 

PhD student, Adam F Smith, was keen to put Ireland on the international camera trap map by participating. He is studying at the University of Freiburg in Germany and works with the Frankfurt Zoological Society to study mammals in landscape-scale conservation projects across Europe — mostly in Ukraine and Belarus. He also works closely with University College Dublin's Laboratory of Wildlife Ecology and Behaviour, such as for this project.