The CamoHide story and the evolution of a superior camouflage and concealment system for trail cameras

Since the dawn of the current rhino and elephant poaching scourge experienced in Southern Africa the need for technology in the fight against poaching was identified. Technologies used in anti-poaching efforts include trail cameras, rugged and weatherproof devices designed for extended and unmanned use outdoors.

Trail cameras are designed to be mounted against a tree trunk to automatically capture photos or video when it senses motion. The images produced are used for various purposes which includes surveillance, hunting, game monitoring and research. Of the shelve, a trail camera is not easily concealable as the enclosure and the mounting gear does not address some of the fundamentals of camouflage and concealment. Their boxy appearance, straight lines and shine from the flat moulded surface are not natural and stand out against vegetation.Current techniques by trail camera manufacturers to disguise a trail camera involve printing camouflage designs on the camera itself.

This results in a two-dimensional disguise that somewhat helps the camera blend with natural colours but only slightly improves its concealment as the object is still readily recognizable given its shape, silhouette and shine. An ill-concealed trail camera makes it an easy and valuable target for thieves due to their high selling price and demand. Even when locked in purpose made security boxes the thief will still have more than enough time to remove and disable the camera.

Anti-Poaching units experienced many problems using trail cameras since most poachers in South Africa are native to the bush and experienced to living in the wilderness. Their eyes are adapted to the wilderness environment and will easily notice any man-made object or unnatural feature such as an ill-concealed trail camera against a tree trunk.

When anti-poaching units first used trail cameras for surveillance, unmodified trail cameras were installed against trees only to find later that they were either vandalised or stolen. They then tried trail camera security boxes, even these were removed and eventually the poachers would avoid the protected routes entirely and use a different one. Some anti-poaching units even stopped using trail cameras completely due to theft and animals, specifically baboons tampering with these devices.

To effectively use trail cameras as a tool in the fight against poaching we realized that concealment is key and in attempt to better conceal their expensive equipment will by a long and tedious DIY approach attempt to break the boxy appearance and shiny surface with various degrees of effectiveness. These DIY methods include various imaginative ways such as gluing real tree bark or using textured synthetic materials to conceal the trail camera. These methods of concealment gave some measure of improved result, so we knew we were steering on the right course.

From these experiences, we started creating three dimensional tree bark camouflage to be attached to our sensors and believe we found the best solution to camouflage and conceal our tree mounted sensors. CamoHide has evolved as a superior concealment and mounting system for trail cameras and other covertly placed sensor equipment.