Professor at North Carolina State University and scientist at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences. Camera Traps, Animal Tracking, host of the Wild Animals YouTube Channel. Likes to play in the snow.https://bsky.app/profile/rolandkays.comhttps://bsky.app/profile/rolandkays.com/post/3ml7fihxm422j🧵 A surprising wildlife trend is emerging that could be a sign of the future: large mammals are making a massive comeback in parts of Europe and Japan. The driver? Human depopulation in rural areas. New paper: 🔗 https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.7036806 May 2026 19:06 +0000at://did:plc:lsj4idcjk52ubemyzblzvso3/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml7fihxm422jhttps://bsky.app/profile/rolandkays.com/post/3ml3ylh3j722w16 states. 140 camera trap sites. One historic comparison. 🎥🐾 We're comparing the wildlife of today with the journals of Lewis and Clark from two centuries ago. See how the American landscape has changed in our new series! Check out the intro here: youtube.com/watch?v=WeGuXP8oK1g https://youtube.com/watch?v=WeGuXP8oK1g05 May 2026 10:37 +0000at://did:plc:lsj4idcjk52ubemyzblzvso3/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml3ylh3j722whttps://bsky.app/profile/rolandkays.com/post/3mksj6cqk7k2mstarting our epic resurvey of wildlife along the Lewis and Clark Route https://www.cbs17.com/news/local-news/wake-county-news/nc-state-professor-team-retracing-lewis-and-clarks-historic-route/01 May 2026 16:07 +0000at://did:plc:lsj4idcjk52ubemyzblzvso3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mksj6cqk7k2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/rolandkays.com/post/3mkn2dnyevk2y🐺🐻‍❄️🦌🫎🦃🦅🐒🦝🦫🦬🐘🦉🐿️🦨🦡🐾🦎📷🧬 Hiring: Biodiversity Lab Manager @NaturalSciences Anticipated opening this summer Help run our on-exhibit Lab in Raleigh MS required Sign up for an alert when it goes live #cameratraps #AI #computervision https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1nrSgEKc4R7wGJDoJvzH-dPeUwanTzwvRAGrdcT3lL7A/edit29 Apr 2026 11:59 +0000at://did:plc:lsj4idcjk52ubemyzblzvso3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkn2dnyevk2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/rolandkays.com/post/3mjpso4oonk2a Coyote Crossing premiers April 20 at 7 PM on @pbs.org covering the story of Canis latrans from tar pits to neighborhoods, and including a short appearance by me and my cat robot17 Apr 2026 20:54 +0000at://did:plc:lsj4idcjk52ubemyzblzvso3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjpso4oonk2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/rolandkays.com/post/3mj446khxrk23Are Urban Coyotes Actually Bolder? A Scientific Comparison based on our recent paper led by @DrJulieKYoung youtu.be/tZ22GHxHAKs https://youtu.be/tZ22GHxHAKs10 Apr 2026 00:51 +0000at://did:plc:lsj4idcjk52ubemyzblzvso3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mj446khxrk23https://bsky.app/profile/rolandkays.com/post/3mj3wiz2h5c2kIf you've ever run a live trap in the eastern US, you know the feeling: open the box, and it's another deer mouse. New paper out: Peromyscus isn't just common at your site — they're dominating small mammal communities continent-wide. 🧵09 Apr 2026 23:10 +0000at://did:plc:lsj4idcjk52ubemyzblzvso3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mj3wiz2h5c2khttps://bsky.app/profile/rolandkays.com/post/3miydsxrtrc2u@movebank.bsky.social just passed 10 Billion animal locations! Must be the largest geospatial biodiversity database? https://www.movebank.org/cms/movebank-main08 Apr 2026 12:57 +0000at://did:plc:lsj4idcjk52ubemyzblzvso3/app.bsky.feed.post/3miydsxrtrc2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/rolandkays.com/post/3mi4x25yslk2fNew study finds individual variation in habitat selection WITHIN species exceeds variation BETWEEN species — suggesting habitat preference may not really be a species-level trait. Also: avoiding roads is the one thing all mammals agree on 😄 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/geb.7021228 Mar 2026 15:27 +0000at://did:plc:lsj4idcjk52ubemyzblzvso3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mi4x25yslk2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/rolandkays.com/post/3mfpz7uscu22tChiloé Island is one of the few places on Earth where Darwin’s fox and the tiny pudú deer still thrive — protected for thousands of years by a narrow stretch of ocean. But that isolation may soon change - check out my new story youtu.be/mueSR5TTO9k https://youtu.be/mueSR5TTO9k26 Feb 2026 01:11 +0000at://did:plc:lsj4idcjk52ubemyzblzvso3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfpz7uscu22thttps://bsky.app/profile/rolandkays.com/post/3me74ubq5ws2oPost Doc Job open with us to work with biologists to build AI models to analyze camera trap data. The specific focus will be to study animal coloration and camouflage, but there will be opportunities to work on other related projects. https://jobs.rwfm.tamu.edu/view-job/?id=10916206 Feb 2026 14:35 +0000at://did:plc:lsj4idcjk52ubemyzblzvso3/app.bsky.feed.post/3me74ubq5ws2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/rolandkays.com/post/3mc743kwq2s2qIf you like long-format nature videos check out this one I just posted with 7+ hours of wetland wildlife captured by 30 camera traps Merchant Millpond State Park, NC. youtu.be/khRCI4Y5nbY https://youtu.be/khRCI4Y5nbY12 Jan 2026 03:31 +0000at://did:plc:lsj4idcjk52ubemyzblzvso3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mc743kwq2s2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/rolandkays.com/post/3m5n2u3jgik2fYes Indiana does have some big trees and spotted cats :)15 Nov 2025 01:40 +0000at://did:plc:lsj4idcjk52ubemyzblzvso3/app.bsky.feed.post/3m5n2u3jgik2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/rolandkays.com/post/3m5n23rmo522pwhat NC Mammal species?15 Nov 2025 01:27 +0000at://did:plc:lsj4idcjk52ubemyzblzvso3/app.bsky.feed.post/3m5n23rmo522phttps://bsky.app/profile/rolandkays.com/post/3m5jdngnlzs2sWho wants a job as monkey chaser? https://www.wral.com/story/in-japans-northern-alps-residents-battle-monkeys-to-protect-homes-and-farms/22243295/13 Nov 2025 14:07 +0000at://did:plc:lsj4idcjk52ubemyzblzvso3/app.bsky.feed.post/3m5jdngnlzs2shttps://bsky.app/profile/rolandkays.com/post/3m4qzlpf3dc2x👍AI to help identify the species in a cameratrap 👎AI to change the pose and posture of your animal https://www.eco-business.com/news/ai-edited-wildlife-photo-in-japan-reignites-debate-over-technologys-expanding-role-in-conservation/03 Nov 2025 22:03 +0000at://did:plc:lsj4idcjk52ubemyzblzvso3/app.bsky.feed.post/3m4qzlpf3dc2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/rolandkays.com/post/3m3psz47x3c251 week left to apply to our Postdoc job with our lab using AI to analyze camera trap images at the NC Museum of Natural sciences and NCSU and in collaboration with Wildlife Insights https:/​/​jobs.ncsu.edu/​postings/​22302521 Oct 2025 17:08 +0000at://did:plc:lsj4idcjk52ubemyzblzvso3/app.bsky.feed.post/3m3psz47x3c25https://bsky.app/profile/rolandkays.com/post/3lzvwmuhbcc2z Can domestic buffalos stand up to jaguars in the Pantanal of Brazil? Join us as we set cameras to find out https://youtu.be/aN-pk-GEYTs?si=j3DVURv1IUJrlPWC28 Sep 2025 16:38 +0000at://did:plc:lsj4idcjk52ubemyzblzvso3/app.bsky.feed.post/3lzvwmuhbcc2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/rolandkays.com/post/3lz5fvcpge22eQuick - apply for this job as manager of our #Biodiversity lab at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences and NCSU to work with #tech and #biodiversity including camera traps, #AI and student mentoring Deadline is 9/23/2025 https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/%7B0%7Dnorthcarolina/jobs/newprint/502123918 Sep 2025 22:34 +0000at://did:plc:lsj4idcjk52ubemyzblzvso3/app.bsky.feed.post/3lz5fvcpge22ehttps://bsky.app/profile/rolandkays.com/post/3lygmfsgpgs2iCheck out my new vid on Brazil's Wildest Babies Deep in Brazil’s Pantanal, camera traps captured rare and heartwarming moments from the wildest families in the animal kingdom. youtu.be/tOoadTYBAg8 https://youtu.be/tOoadTYBAg809 Sep 2025 21:00 +0000at://did:plc:lsj4idcjk52ubemyzblzvso3/app.bsky.feed.post/3lygmfsgpgs2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/rolandkays.com/post/3lw5xrqagzc2gDances like wolves? Evaluating ecological replacement of apex predators in eastern North America https://stacksjournal.org/article/jensen-25011/11 Aug 2025 23:39 +0000at://did:plc:lsj4idcjk52ubemyzblzvso3/app.bsky.feed.post/3lw5xrqagzc2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/rolandkays.com/post/3lrvss4mwok2gCheck out our new paper in Current Biology on how well Chinese protected areas have preserved mammal and bird communities #cameratrap includes work-of-art figures by lead author Junjie Liu https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982225005913?dgcid=coauthor18 Jun 2025 20:08 +0000at://did:plc:lsj4idcjk52ubemyzblzvso3/app.bsky.feed.post/3lrvss4mwok2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/rolandkays.com/post/3lqvo62kamc2pThe analytics are now live for all users on Wildlife Insights for camera trap data. Here's the average detection rate for mammals in my back yard over the last few years. www.wildlifeinsights.org06 Jun 2025 01:20 +0000at://did:plc:lsj4idcjk52ubemyzblzvso3/app.bsky.feed.post/3lqvo62kamc2phttps://bsky.app/profile/rolandkays.com/post/3lqusmu3sqk2hAnticipated Job Opening - Biodiversity Lab Manager at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences. Come join our group using technology to monitor biodiversity #AI #Cameratrap #Animaltracking #GPS https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UVEKUzzSZy0AHzsKosRslGpkfhiC7uRBC6DR2hJXv98/edit?tab=t.005 Jun 2025 17:07 +0000at://did:plc:lsj4idcjk52ubemyzblzvso3/app.bsky.feed.post/3lqusmu3sqk2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/rolandkays.com/post/3lqnrdpp34k2vCool funding opportunity for a new PhD student in ecology or evolution. https://www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/simons-graduate-fellowships-in-ecology-and-evolution/02 Jun 2025 21:55 +0000at://did:plc:lsj4idcjk52ubemyzblzvso3/app.bsky.feed.post/3lqnrdpp34k2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/rolandkays.com/post/3lq4afokxb22j@AniMove is going to Costa Rica! Sign up https://animove.org/next-animove-2025-costa-rica/26 May 2025 22:37 +0000at://did:plc:lsj4idcjk52ubemyzblzvso3/app.bsky.feed.post/3lq4afokxb22j