Securing your DOC AI Cam

The DOC AI Cam is a valuable piece of kit. Many people are worried about the cameras being stolen or vandalised. There are a number of strategies you can employ to minimise the risk.

Position out of the way

One easy strategy is to keep the the camera off highly trafficked tracks. This simply reduces the number of people that are going past that could notice it. It's still worth making sure the camera is on a track, even if it is just an animal track. It's easier for you to get to and you're more likely to see animals. 

Another strategy is to put the camera up high, out of the way, where it is less likely to be seen and hard to get to. For example, Shakespear Park have cameras mounted on top of their fence, with solar panels. In the bush this isn't very practical because you don't want the risk associated with people climbing trees to mount cameras or change batteries.

Hide/Camouflage

The camera is camouflaged and is difficult to see in trees. The white battery can stand out, but can easily be hidden under foliage. Some people have painted them.

Here's a camera camera mounted on a tree in Ernle Clark Reserve in Christchurch

I couldn't find this camera when Martin from Bay Bush Action walked me to the tree and said here's the camera.

Painted batteries

A camera in the Coronation Reserve in the Port Hills of urban Christchurch

Padlock

The camera comes with a security tag which is easy to attach a padlock and a chain. While this isn't 100% secure, it will make it more difficult for anyone that does happen upon the camera.

GPS Tracker

Some people put GPS trackers, such as AirTags inside the camera. There is room for this. Others save the cost and just write on the camera that it is GPS tracked.

Other notes

The light doesn't come on during normal operation. That only comes on when the button is pushed. So the light won't attract attention to the camera.

Unlike trail cameras, these can't be used by anyone that steals them. They need to have a log in to the Cacophony portal to access the recordings.

At the time of writing, we have only heard of one camera that has gone missing (on Waiheke).

Many people are using these safely in urban environments. For example the Hamilton City Council.