Last Updated: 3/15/2015

 The 2012 Pilot Study was the first endeavor of Biokryptos to use camera traps on the summit of a Tepui. Two Moultrie D55 IR Gamespy traps were set up following the 2012 Auyan Tepui expedition led by Vittorio Assandria. Although the scope of the pilot study was limited to proving the utility of camera traps in a Tepui summit environment, the success of this project went beyond a simple proof of concept. The traps photographed the crab-eating fox Cerdocyon thous thous in the talus slope environment of campo Guayaraca, a first for the distribution of this fox species, and proof that lowland carnivores are present at least on Tepui talus slopes. An article on the subject was submitted and published by the IUCN/SSC Canid Specialist Group journal Canid Biology and Conservation. This study, and subsequent publication, launched a concerted effort on the part of Biokryptos team members to expand both the scope and depth of exploration, and has culminated in the Tepui Watch Project.