GMU8_LEUVEN - Camera trap observations in natural habitats south of Leuven (Belgium) is a dataset published by the Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO). It contains camera trap data primarily collected to monitor the interaction between human activities (e.g. recreation, hunting) and the population dynamics as well as geographical and temporal distribution of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and wild boar (Sus scrofa) in natural areas south of Leuven. However, the dataset also includes all recorded observations of mammals and birds captured during the monitoring period. Observations later than 2024-09-05 are under embargo, unless they are observations of non-native species. Monitoring started in March 2018 and was conducted in close collaboration with hunters and members of local nature conservation associations active in the area. Several forest and nature areas south of Leuven were sampled, with the main forest complexes being Meerdaalwoud, Heverleebos, and Egenhovenbos. Additionally, camera traps were placed in the valleys of the Dijle, Laan, and Yse rivers. Each camera trap was installed facing north at a height of approximately 50 cm. No bait was used during the monitoring. The sampling design was based on a grid of 250 x 250 meter cells. Camera locations were determined by randomly selecting a subset of these grid cells, and the coordinates used for placement corresponded to the center point of each selected cell. A total of 32 camera traps were used. These were relocated monthly, with each selected grid cell being monitored once during the winter and once during the summer. Images from the camera traps were uploaded to Agouti for data annotation. Issues with the dataset can be reported at https://github.com/inbo/camera-trap-datasets/issues. We have released this dataset to the public domain under a Creative Commons Zero waiver. We kindly ask users to follow the INBO norms for data use (https://www.inbo.be/en/norms-data-use) when using the data. If you have any questions regarding this dataset, don't hesitate to contact us via the contact information provided in the metadata or via opendata@inbo.be. Researchers can request more detailed geographic coordinates of the camera trap locations by contacting jim.casaer@inbo.be. This dataset was collected using infrastructure managed by INBO and funded by the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) as part of Belgium’s contribution to LifeWatch.Data have been standardized to Darwin Core using the camtrapdp R package and only include observations (and associated media) of animals. Excluded are records that document blank or unclassified media, vehicles and observations of humans.