'This is their territory': Wildlife captured on Phoenix man's backyard camera

PHOENIX - Ever wonder what happens in your backyard when you're sound asleep? Well, a Phoenix man set up several cameras to find out.

He was amazed at what the cameras captured – lots of wildlife.

For 17 years, Doug Gangi has lived in his Phoenix home, and he knew animals were all around.

"We wanted to be next to all this nature," he said.

What was the sure sign animals were nearby? "The cactus we planted kept getting eaten," he said.

It wasn't until he placed two trail cameras last month that he realized he owned a zoo.

"I put the second camera down in the wash that captures animals in both directions and that's when I realized that we have two different traffic corridors," he said.

All of the southwest nature rolls through his property. Coyotes, raccoons, javelinas and even several bobcats.

"Gosh, that's a lot more than what we expected," he said.

They've ripped up some of his irrigation and eaten plenty of plants. Again, he knew nature was there, but this was a surprise.

"We knew there was coyotes, we knew there was snakes, we just knew there were these types of things. Scorpions in the house. We liked to be a part of that, to be in nature, you get what you take," he said.

His house cats stay inside, mostly because of what's outside, but he says he feels very safe and loves how close nature is.

"They were here first. We are in their territory, and we understand that, and I never wanted to alter their behavior or move them. Again, this is their territory, not ours," Gangi said.