Seven motion-sensor wildlife cameras used to monitor the urban deer population have gone missing from Oak Bay.
The Urban Wildlife Stewardship Society, which is running the vaccine inoculation pilot program, reported the cameras were removed between Dec. 5 and 14.
“The cameras were located at several different public properties throughout Oak Bay,” said Oak Bay Police Sgt. Manuel Montero.
The cameras are described as brown Bushnell trail cameras with UWSS.ca engraved on them.
UWSS has cameras actively hidden around Oak Bay to monitor the ongoing Urban Deer Research Project in collaboration with the Oak Bay municipality. Each camera is worth about $250. Prying them from a tree or post is no easy task, said Kristy Kilpatrick of the UWSS board.
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Each camera is locked in place and removal requires bolt cutters.
“We’re really puzzled, we’ve recently lost nine in total of the motion cameras that are being used for the research project,” Kilpatrick said. “We’ve have had one or two taken over the past two years, but just one-offs, this is a concerning problem.
The file remains under investigation. Anyone with any information can reach out to info@uwss.ca.
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