More from the Bear Wallow

For most of the summer and fall I've had a camera trap that takes videos at a seasonal (vernal) pool in the Big Woods. Results from earlier in the year were posted here and here.

As the water level in the seasonal pool had risen wildlife activity declined and it required wading to check the card and change the batteries. The camera was but an inch or so above the water and only viewing a small area of the pool’s greatly enlarged area.

So the camera was moved to one end of the oblong pool and attached to a small tree well above the water level. After two months of on-and-off rain the water level still hadn’t dropped and wildlife activity hadn’t increased significantly – but deer and bear continued to visit occasionally and the camera captured several videos –

Now it was time to remove the camera before hunting seasons began and more people were in the forest.

The camera, in a steel security box, had been attached to the tree with parachute cord and a cable lock, the front cover of the steel security box was secured with an inexpensive padlock.

When I checked the camera it was twisted around the tree to face away from the pool and the front cover of the security box was gone – but the camera was undamaged except for a tooth mark in the Fresnel lens.

The front cover was discovered beneath the water in the pool, but the padlock was nowhere to be found. I used my alpenstock to retrieve the cover, which was bent and twisted, but wasn’t beyond repair. As for how the lock failed and where it was –

 ????