Remote Cameras Reveal the Rare Animals Living in the ‘Amazon of Asia’

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A wide-ranging camera trap survey in the largely unexplored “Amazon of Asia” has captured rare images of endangered and elusive animals.

A camera trap survey conducted throughout 2025 has provided new insight into the biodiversity of the Annamite Mountains, recording a wide range of threatened and rarely seen species across forests spanning Laos, Vietnam, and northeastern Cambodia. The images highlight the ecological significance of one of Southeast Asia’s most important forest landscapes, which stretches about 683 miles.

Two monkeys sit on a large fallen tree trunk in a sunlit forest clearing; one monkey is sitting upright while the smaller one is standing on all fours, both surrounded by dense green foliage.

A black-and-white night vision photo shows a bear with two cubs in a forested area. The adult bear is sitting while one cub climbs on its back and the other cub stands close. Leaves and branches cover the ground.

A wild spotted cat with a long, ringed tail stands on the forest floor, looking back toward the camera. Lush green trees and dense foliage surround the animal in the background.

The survey was led by Fauna & Flora’s Cambodia program in partnership with the Ministry of Environment of Cambodia and the provincial environment department in Ratanakiri, with support from local Indigenous communities. Residents helped identify camera locations, transport equipment, and retrieve memory cards from remote parts of the protected area.

A young elephant walks through a dense bamboo forest, with dry bamboo leaves scattered on the ground and sunlight filtering through the tall bamboo stalks.

A clouded leopard with distinctive dark markings stands on a fallen tree trunk in a dense, green forest, looking toward the camera.

A large hornbill with a bright yellow and orange casque on its beak stands among dense green foliage and dry leaves on the forest floor.

A large, dark-furred antelope with curved horns walks through a dense, leafy forest. Fallen leaves cover the ground, and green foliage fills the background.

The camera traps recorded a wide variety of wildlife, including Asian elephants, dholes, clouded leopards, marbled cats,stump-tailed macaques, and grey peacock-pheasants. Footage showed two sun bears interacting playfully, a species recognizable by the orange-yellow marking on its chest. The cameras also captured images of the Annamite striped rabbit, an endangered species named after the mountain range. Experts say it has only rarely been photographed and was not known to science until 1996. Among the bird species recorded was the great hornbill, whose presence is considered a sign of a healthy forest ecosystem.

Two brown birds with spotted feather patterns walk on a forest floor covered in dry leaves and surrounded by green foliage, with a curved tree branch in the background.

A black and white night-vision image of a pangolin lying on a forest floor covered in leaves, with its scales and tail visible and its eyes reflecting light.

“The Annamites mountain range is alive with a host of incredible creatures, each playing a critical role in maintaining the forest ecosystems that are vital to the health of our planet,” Gareth Goldthorpe, Senior Technical Adviser, Asia-Pacific at Fauna & Flora, says in a statement. “This camera-trap data allows us to discover some of the Annamites’ rarest species, while also understanding more about their behavior, preferred topography, and their interactions with human settlements.”

Fauna & Flora has worked in the Annamites since the 1990s to help protect the region’s forests. According to the organization, data from the long-term camera-trap survey shows that key threats to wildlife include habitat encroachment and fragmentation, as well as widespread snaring, which can rapidly deplete animal populations even in otherwise intact forests.

Previously, PetaPixel reported on a first-of-its-kind camera survey on a remote Tasmanian island which captured images of species seldom seen by humans.

Image credits: All photos by Fauna & Flora

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