Trail cameras making prey vulnerable?

[banishd]

Wondering your thoughts on this. See lots of pics with predators time stamped soon after deer or elk coming through. Do you think using an attractant to draw in animals is making them more vulnerable to predation?

[Oh Mah]

you see the predators because the cams are on game trails,where predators hunt.if a game cam is at a water hole same applies,if the cam is off trail and in the woods or a field for that matter predators follow prey scent to hunt.IE no game cams do not make prey more vulnerable.Not many cam pics with predation taking place. 

[chiwawadan]

Wondering your thoughts on this. See lots of pics with predators time stamped soon after deer or elk coming through. Do you think using an attractant to draw in animals is making them more vulnerable to predation?

No, I do not.

[2MANY]

No but I sure hope the salt blocks are certified weed free.

[NOCK NOCK]

Nope.

[HighlandLofts]

Wal-Mart has regular one pound containers of salt for fifty-four cents a piece, I bought six pounds and put three pounds out at two different places. No cams, ju start put it way out where they would no find any. I will be picking some more up next time out in the woods.

[Jake Dogfish]

Wondering your thoughts on this. See lots of pics with predators time stamped soon after deer or elk coming through. Do you think using an attractant to draw in animals is making them more vulnerable to predation?

Absolutely! They should be banishd.

[Elkcollector82]

If you look at trail cam time stamps. You will see deer or elk couple minutes before you see a cougar or bear. So do you really think that cougar or bear just started tracking that deer or elk in those said couple minutes. I’m gonna go with NO! That cougar or bear been trailing that deer or elk for awhile. Waiting for the right time and place to kill it. You just happened to catch them trailing it on your cam.

[Jonathan_S]

I'd almost say the opposite.  Prey animals are extremely cautious around bait/salt.   Well at least mature animals are.

[yakimanoob]

Generally no, I don't think habituating a prey animal to a certain spot using salt/bait/etc. makes it more vulnerable to predators, for the reasons mentioned.  Cervids are habitual creatures - feed areas, sanctuary spots, migration corridors, calving grounds, etc and their predators are habituated to them as well. 

Incidentally, the same logic applies to wildlife bridges, although many folks on here like to argue the opposite.