CAM001
During the monitoring period, CAM001 recorded a significant gathering of barking deer
CAM004 is positioned within the expansive grassland buffers of Cat Tien National Park - an important transition zone for rehabilitated herbivores. These open landscapes provide space for animals to graze freely while gradually readapting to natural conditions, including herd behavior and environmental cues.
From this vantage point, the camera captures how wildlife moves, interacts, and settles back into the rhythms of the wild - offering valuable insight into the recovery process.
Integrated with Katien AI Sentinel, CAM004 delivers continuous thermal and motion-based data, helping researchers monitor activity patterns around the clock. This allows for a deeper understanding of how rehabilitated animals use open habitats, while supporting ongoing conservation and rewilding efforts.
Early in the morning, four sambar deer can be seen moving across the grassland to graze and forage. As one of the largest deer species in Asia, sambar deer rely on these cooler hours to feed more efficiently while reducing exposure to heat and predators. Despite their size, they remain cautious animals - often feeding in small groups while maintaining awareness of their surroundings.
Sambar deer (Rusa unicolor) are well adapted to a range of habitats, from dense forests to open grasslands like those found in Cat Tien National Park. They are primarily crepuscular, meaning they are most active during early morning and late afternoon. Their diet includes grasses, leaves, fallen fruits, and occasionally aquatic plants, making them highly adaptable foragers.
They are also strong swimmers and are often found near water sources, which provide both food and a place to cool down. Known for their keen senses of smell and hearing, sambar deer frequently pause while feeding to scan their surroundings - an essential behavior that helps them detect predators. This calm morning scene offers a glimpse into their daily routine, where feeding and vigilance are closely intertwined.
Two Sambar Deer are observed in the grassland during the afternoon in Cat Tien National Park, positioned at a distance from each other. Both individuals appear alert, with one continuing to forage cautiously while the other moves quickly toward the camera, possibly responding to a disturbance.
Sambar deer rely heavily on their senses of hearing and smell, and in open habitats they remain highly vigilant. Even while feeding, they frequently pause and react to subtle changes in their surroundings.
A group of Sambar deer is observed in the grassland at night, alternating between resting and foraging. Some individuals remain lying down while others stand nearby, feeding on grasses and low vegetation.
Their behavior reflects a typical nocturnal pattern, with periods of feeding interspersed with rest. Even while settled, the deer remain alert, occasionally lifting their heads to scan the surroundings.
The scene captures a calm nighttime moment, with the group sharing the open grassland as they feed and conserve energy.
A group of Gaur is observed grazing in an open area at night - an uncommon sight, as these large and typically elusive animals are not often captured on camera. In Cat Tien National Park, there are estimated to be around 120 individuals, with the Park supporting one of the largest gaur herds in the region.
As the world’s largest wild cattle species, gaur are powerful herbivores, recognized by their muscular build, dark brown coats, and distinctive white “stockings” on their lower legs. Despite their size, they are generally quiet and cautious, often preferring dense forest cover during the day and becoming more active during the cooler hours of early morning, late afternoon, and night.
In this footage, the herd remains grouped, with individuals occasionally lifting their heads to scan their surroundings before returning to feed. This balance between feeding and vigilance is typical, especially in more open areas where visibility is higher.
Gaur live in small herds, usually made up of females and young, led by an experienced individual. Larger males may join these groups or move more independently during the peak of the breeding season. Even in low-light conditions, their size and presence are unmistakable, and their calm, deliberate movements reflect a strong sense of awareness.
Their appearance in a more open grassland at night may indicate a shift in activity patterns, possibly taking advantage of cooler temperatures and reduced disturbance. Moments like this offer a rare glimpse into the behaviour of a species that is usually difficult to observe in the wild.
The open grassland offers an ideal setting to observe the ecological role of wild boar as natural “ecosystem engineers.”
This location captures the typical grazing behaviour of Sambar deer, the largest deer species in the park, during the cooler hours of the night.
