Bobby Wummer has spent the final 10 years filming and photographing wildlife in South Florida. Over that point, he’s discovered so much concerning the state’s most treasured wildlife species, and the right way to stealthily seize footage of those critters of their aspect. Path cameras have develop into a necessary a part of that technique, says Wummer, who often shares these images and movies to his Instagram web page.
“The path cameras positively assist me out, and I get to really seize movies that I by no means would have gotten in any other case,” Wummer tells Outside Life. “You’re not disturbing these animals whenever you do it, that’s the best half. I’ve gotten movies of bobcats crying for his or her mates, gators bellowing, panthers speaking—I even acquired a Florida mink within the swamp, and really hardly ever do you ever see these.”
Wummer lives in Palm Seashore County, which lies on the Atlantic coast roughly 70 miles north of Miami. He’s been there since childhood, and he labored on the native police pressure for about 30 years earlier than retiring and diving headfirst into wildlife images. He’s seen loads of modifications over time as Florida’s inhabitants has grown and growth has accelerated, however he says there are nonetheless loads of spots the place you’ll find wholesome wetlands and wildlife populations.
He spends a few of his time in Ocala Nationwide Forest, which he calls “the black bear capitol of Florida.” He additionally makes the occasional journey all the way down to the Everglades, the place he’s seen first-hand the destruction that Burmese pythons have wrought on the area’s mammal populations.
“I’m telling you, I had cameras down there for over a yr and also you simply don’t see the quantity of mammals that you must,” Wummer says. “I discuss to locals and so they say that for the reason that pythons confirmed up, they don’t see any deer. We don’t have the snakes up right here but, or at the very least I haven’t seen one, however they’re coming. You simply can’t catch ‘em all.”
VIDEO: Bobcat Fights a Python, Steals Its Eggs
Photographing Alligators
There’s, nonetheless, one other reptile that Wummer spends a variety of time round: alligators. As a lot as he will get bored with vacationers asking him if he’s “seen any gators”—which occurs each time they see him within the swamp with a digicam—he says he really enjoys spending time across the massive uglies.
“Gators are simply enjoyable to observe, and I can spend days on the market watching ‘em. I don’t do it from an eye-to-eye perspective. I’ve a good friend that snorkels with ‘em, however I’m not going that far.”
Wummer likes to maintain his honey holes to himself, however he says a few of his favourite gator spots are positioned on the far (west) aspect of Lake Okeechobee. He had at the very least 5 path cameras arrange there during the last couple months, however sadly most of these have been broken when Hurricane Ian made landfall and flooded the swamps. He explains that since he was particularly focusing on alligators and different small critters, he hooked up the cameras decrease on bushes. He was unable to retrieve them in time, although, and when he confirmed up after the hurricane weeks later, just a few of them have been nonetheless underwater.
When he’s not searching for alligators, Wummer likes chasing massive bucks within the cypress swamps. He solely shoots a digicam and isn’t a hunter himself, however he nonetheless enjoys placing on a ghillie go well with and seeing how shut he can get to the deer. After all, when he’s placing out cameras for whitetails, he focuses extra on sport trails and locations them greater up on the bushes. He additionally makes some extent by no means to face his path cams due east or west. He is aware of that deer are most probably to maneuver round dawn and sundown and tries to keep away from direct daylight on the lenses.
Wummer additionally appreciates path cameras for a similar cause that the majority hunters do: they permit him to control an space with out having to hold round there all day.
“You simply can’t keep on the market all day within the summertime, otherwise you’ll roast. And at night time the mosquitoes will eat you alive,” he says. “As a photographer, it’s simply actually cool so as to add [trail cams] to your repertoire. Most of your movies gained’t have something in them, however once in a while you get to see the animals in their very own habitat doing wild stuff.”
