A study on the analysis of mammals’ activity patterns and the effect of human hiker interference using camera trapping

ABSTRACT This study investigated mammal fauna and examined the effect of human interference on their appearance via remote CT in the Baekdudaegan. A total of 1,216 mammalian and 3,248 HA photographs were captured during the CT survey. From the mammalian photographs, we identified thirteen mammalian species. Among those species, Hydropotes inermis was predominantly found by CT. Based on the camera-captured time, we further classified those mammals into three groups (three species, diurnal; seven species, nocturnal; three species, mixed). Most mammals were observed again approximately 16:34 ± 22:25 hours after human access. The analysis results showed that the number of human travelers had no significant impact on the reappearance of mammals after HA (P > 0.05), suggesting that the activities of mammals may be dependent on mammal fauna. However, the reappearance rate of artiodactyls was decreased compared with that of carnivores after HA. These results suggested that HA might affect the activities of mammals, especially in the ridgeline regions.