The Digital Collections Center is pleased to announce the newest collection to be migrated into CONTENTdm: The Furman Cougar Project. The Furman Cougar Project began in 2008 as an effort to monitor and research cougars in south-central New Mexico. Each summer Furman University Biology professor, Dr. Travis Perry, and his students travel to Sierra County, New Mexico to photograph and track the large wild cats. The research team sets up a grid of cameras in key locations that are programmed to snap a photograph of any movement. The cameras help the team identify potential locations of the cougars. When a cougar is located, the team then safely captures, tags, and collars it with a GPS locator. In this way, they are able to track the movements and hunting patterns of the cougars.
This digital collection contains more than just pictures of cougars, however. Because the cameras are set to photograph every movement, there are images of a wide assortment of wildlife. There are over 3,500 digital images showcasing everything from skunks, to bears, to bats. We hope to work with Dr. Perry in 2016 to add additional photographs to this collection. In the meantime, enjoy a few highlights from the digital collection: