Leanne from Coffs Harbour and Paula from Brisbane have completed degrees majoring in wildlife biology and are now undertaking an honours year at UQ Gatton. Their real-life tiger experience was hosted by Dr. Tony Lynam of the New York based Wildlife Conservation Society which has a major tiger conservation project underway in Khao Yai National Park north of Bangkok. Paula said her wildlife studies had been inspired by a visit to Africa and she planned to travel overseas to work with endangered species after completing her year at UQ Gatton. The trip to Thailand had been a rewarding experience. Leanne said the Thai conservation authorities had a constant battle to stop poachers from hunting in the parks.
Tigers pass an infra-red beam, which triggers the camera.
Dr Lynam used the unique stripe pattern on the tiger body captured on film to determine the number of tigers in the park. Leanne has been adapting the remote camera trap method to suit wildlife in Australia. This method could be used to study marsupials like quolls that have unique markings on their body. A tiger is captured by a camera trap. Students had the opportunity to work with real wildlife projects.