Roe deer selfie from Georgia’s protected area goes viral

A camera trap in one of Georgia’s protected areas has proven that roe deer are very photogenic animals.

This curious roe deer was spotted at the Lagodekhi Protected Area in eastern Georgia earlier in May.

Photo source: Agency of Protected Areas (Georgia)/Facebook

Video footage showed there were other roe deer around when this image was taken.

Several years ago numerous camera traps were installed in Georgia’s protected areas and national parks to capture footage and prove that a variety of animals, some rare, lived in the country’s uninhabited areas.

Since then a number of camera trap videos and photos have been released, and the latest materials included some bears too.

These baby bears together with their mother were also spotted in the Lagodekhi Protected Area, which is located in Georgia’s most popular wine-making region Kakheti. Kakheti is a popular tourist destination.

Several other bears at the Ilto Managed Reserve in another part of Kakheti recreated a famous painting Morning in a Pine Forest by Russian landscape painter Ivan Shishkin. Here it is.

Photo source: Agency of Protected Areas (Georgia)/Facebook

Apart from spotting rare animals, photo traps were also a good tool to reduce poaching and identify offenders. If the devices noticed movement, such as an animal passing by or illegal hunting, it recorded the image and sent it to the Administration of Protected Areas. This helped the national parks and protected areas to prevent poaching in the area.