The Huffington Post is reporting on an extensive camera trap mammal study done by the Conservation International. The study shows animals in their natural habitat as well as the humans that threaten their livelihood.

The study was led by ecologist Dr. Jorge Ahumada along with the Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring Network (TEAM) and Ahumada’s team at Conservation International. The products of the study were 52,000 photos of 105 species in protected areas in Costa Rica, Brazil, Tanzania, Uganda, Laos, Suriname, and Indonesia.

While the pictures showed beautiful shots of these animals in their natural habitats, also included in the 52,000 photos were snapshots of poachers. The pictures also show that many natural habitats are being lost.

Conservation International stated that the decline in animals could harm humans; the group explained that according to some scientists, some animals help disperse carbon-dense seeds and through the removal of these animals from over-hunting, forests will be less able to store carbon, thereby making it harder for us to fight the effects of climate change.

The full study, “Community structure and diversity of tropical mammals: data from a global camera trap network,” has been published in the journal “Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.” You can read the full article about the study, as well as view select pictures taken from the study, here at The Huffington Post.