What kind of wildlife lives along the stream? I took trail camera shots near the forest bathing area in Kofu City, Yamanashi Prefecture

What I often think about while fishing in streams is what kind of wildlife lives along the streams. Since I spend a lot of time in nature, it is important to understand the natural environment for safety. Therefore, I installed a trail camera at a spot along the stream and observed it.

What kind of wildlife can be found along the fishing stream? I set up a trail camera.

I visited the Kofu City Forest Bathing Area again. I always wondered what kind of wildlife exists along the stream while fishing. I decided to set up a trail camera along the stream.

While fishing, I discovered an open area with a small brook. There were scattered nuts, and it seemed like a good spot for drinking water, creating an atmosphere that felt like a great feeding ground. I sensed that various animals might appear here, so I chose this spot for the camera setup.

From my previous experience setting up trail cameras, I learned that keeping the camera position not too far from the ground makes it easier to capture small animals. The horizontal angle of view is wide, but the vertical isn't as much, so it's better to focus on adjusting the height. So far, I've only been able to capture wild deer, and I hope to see animals I haven't encountered before as I wait for the morning.

Sure enough, there were many deer here too.

And when I looked at the files I filmed, there were indeed a lot of deer. A very large female deer appeared. There was a fawn behind her, so it seems like a mother and child. The mother deer was pecking at something on the ground in a relaxed manner, while the little fawn was advancing quite cautiously.

After some time, two fawns appeared. They seemed to be different individuals from the previous mother and child. It seems like there are many families of deer inhabiting this area.

In recent years, the presence of bears has been a topic of discussion, but deer-related crop damage has been a concern for many years, and one theory suggests that the absence of natural predators is the main cause of their increase. Watching these resilient animals makes me feel a deep sense of futility about a situation where coexistence is difficult.

The next morning, before departure, I witnessed a wild boar.

As I was warming up the car to head home, a wild boar about 40 cm long was busily digging up the ground with its snout. Although it was alone, it looked to be a cute young adult, still in between being a child and fully grown. In fact, I had seen this individual the day before near a fishing spot downstream, and it seemed to have come up in search of food.

Looking at the area the wild boar had dug up, there were grooves in the soft soil. This trace is often seen when walking along forest roads and occurs frequently on the accumulated soil beside the road. The wild boar also seems to prey on insects in addition to plants, so it might be looking for bugs in the ground.

Along the way back, traces of their foraging continued for a long distance, giving insight into their voracious appetite. Autumn seems to offer a rich harvest for food, but they didn't look overly fat.

The trail camera that allows us to see nature in its original form feels meaningful

This time, the observation results were limited to deer, but I realized that dealing with nature and getting things to go as we wish is very difficult. However, the trail camera, which allows for observation from a distance, is very convenient, and seeing the appearance of nature through the trail camera was a very meaningful shoot. I plan to take the trail camera on new journeys and continue to watch over the activities of nature.

Reporting & Text / Kazuma Tanaka

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