What Wildlife Roams the Edge of Tyhee Lake?

Students were excited to check their trail cameras near Tyhee Lake to see what had been captured so far! With the help of the Wildlife Insights platform, students identified and tallied the wildlife caught on camera. Two trail cameras logged a cumulative 154 camera trap days since October 2024. During this time, the cameras captured photos of 48 animals.

Here's what students discovered:

Students identified eight different species:

• Red squirrel (3)

• Coyote (15)

• Snowshoe hare (19)

• Black bear (1)

• Mule deer (7)

• Red fox (1)

• Pine marten (1)

• and a ground level bird (1) that could not be identified to species level.
  

The most abundant animals were coyotes and snowshoe hares. Students hypothesized that the coyotes are attracted to the area because they prey on hares.

We were surprised to see a red fox caught on camera in a very active coyote area! (According to the literature, coyotes and foxes typically avoid each other.) Some students were surprised to see a black bear on camera as late as November 4th. Shouldn't he be sleeping? Students predicted what wildlife we might see when we check the traps again at the end of the school year. We look forward to testing those predictions!