CRITTERS MUG FOR THE CAMERA; NETWORK OF HIDDEN DEVICES TRACKS WILDLIFE THROUGH THIN AND THICKET.

Byline: Sonia Giordani Daily News Staff Writer

In remote pockets scattered through Cheeseboro and Palo Comado canyons, the hundreds of raccoons and rabbits, bobcats and coyotes roaming through these bucolic hills and valleys are turning their furry faces to the camera.

Camouflaged by chaparral and fallen oak leaves, more than 50 compact cameras have been rigged through parkland as part of a three-year study tracking wildlife populations and the corridors they most frequently use to migrate through the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

``We are trying to identify crucial corridors in and around the area. Until recently, we knew very little about these animals,'' said Ray Sauvajot, project coordinator and an ecologist with the National Park Service.

``One of the things we know for sure is that as development continues and open space continues to be lost or fragmented, the long-term survival of some of these animals, particularly those requiring large areas, may be threatened,'' he said.

Area park officials initiated the study in the summer of 1995 with the support of a $95,000 grant from Canon U.S.A., which has since donated an additional $11,000 in cameras and related equipment for the project. On Tuesday, officials from Canon U.S.A. toured the canyon area as park officials updated them on the progress of the project.

This year, park biologists have managed to tag and keep track of 38 coyotes, 22 bobcats and 11 gray foxes as they traveled from the hills of Liberty Canyon in Agoura to areas as far as the western San Fernando Valley, Santa Clarita and Moorpark.

Sharon Kim, a wildlife technician who has spent thousands of hours working on the project since its inception, is one of five full-time workers tracking the animals, which wear collars equipped with an antenna that relays radio signals to the park officials.

``We drive around listening for signals and try to get as close to them as possible without disrupting them,'' said Kim. ``We map out their location and are able to keep track of their movements on a daily basis.''

Since February 1996, park officials have also depended on the hidden cameras scattered through parkland, used to estimate populations in the area.

The unsuspecting animals, lured toward the camera by an enticing bait laid out nearby, step onto a pressure plate that triggers the shutter. In just a year and a half, park officials have collected hundreds of portraits depicting wide-eyed raccoons, red-eyed bobcats, nimble deer and other curious animals.

Park officials use the photos to count the number of marked and unmarked animals in an area and to estimate the total population of a species through statistical analysis.

``Sometimes, the same animal will photograph itself repeatedly on one night. Other times, an animal will come back again after a few days, but we can usually distinguish the animals,'' said Sauvajot.

On one night, a mother bobcat with her two kittens were photographed in an area of the canyon. When the mother strayed off to search the vicinity, the two kittens simply curled up onto the pressure plate for a nap and ended up taking more than 20 pictures of themselves, he said.

Other photos were snapped by domestic dogs accompanying their owners on a hike or by unsuspecting mountain bikers lugging their bicycles up a hill.

``This project has indeed generated a lot of entertaining pictures. But there's more to this project than that,'' said Sauvajot, who hopes to secure funds for an additional four to five years.

``These pictures help us understand where these animals are, how many of them there are, their reproductive patterns and their mortality, as well as the critical corridors we need to preserve,'' he said.

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

PHOTO (1--color in Conejo edition only) Ecologist Ray Sauvajot of the National Park Service explains how a plate is used to trigger a camera that records wildlife movement.

(2--color in Conejo edition only) A camera is aimed at a lure that attracts wildlife to a pressure plate.

(3--ran in Conejo edition only) Representatives of the National Park Service display photos, taken by remote cameras, of wildlife they are tracking.

Evan Yee/Daily News