Lonely Planet’s A Year of Watching Wildlife

The “travel list” has become a bit of a tired concept, with far too many “ten best” lists and “fifty places to see before you die.”

Lonely Planet’s A Year of Watching Wildlife is a bit different, in that it is organized by calendar, with a wildlife event to see for each week of the year. It’s an attractive book, with nice photos, good information and good writing.

Of course, all the “usual suspects” are here–the Serengeti, the Amazon, the Galapagos. But I think there’s enough here to interest even more serious traveling naturalists and wildlife enthusiasts.  There are some intriguing trip ideas like the lek displays of kob, Zambian fruit bat colonies, bioluminescent bays and more.

I’m sure you won’t agree with all the choices, but I guess that’s part of the fun. In any case, it’s a decent book for your shelf  if you’re a traveling wildlife enthusiast. Just thought I’d pass along a mini-review.

White-nosed Fungus Spreads to Canada

More sad news on the spread of this fungus in North America

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/technology/First+case+white+nose+fungus+found+Ontario+colony/2707582/story.html

Black footed Ferrets and Long tailed Weasels – RFI

I should hopefully be in the US for a week in mid April. I’m planning to spend a couple of days around Idaho (with Matt Miller) and then probably 2 or 3 in Yellowstone and then a couple more near LA (but I might go instead to Arizona). Does anyone know any reliable spots for Ferrets or Long-tailed Weasels in those states or the general vicinity (general = < 400 miles)?

I'd also love to see a Lynx or a Fisher but I suspect this will be considerably more difficult…..

thanks

Jon

Iberian Lynx Report – Rio Andujar

I’ve just added a great report from Lee Dingain who saw Lynxes in February during a short trip to Spain. There is a great deal of detail in this report so it is very useful if you are contemplating a trip.
http://www.mammalwatching.com/Palearctic/palearctspain.html

Niger

Michel Gervais spent a week in Niger in Feb. He saw 23 species and a possible West African Manatee. He also includes a picture of a mouse that needs identification… good luck!

http://www.mammalwatching.com/Afrotropical/afrotropniger.html

Costa Rica Trip Report

I’ve uploaded a report of my week in Costa Rica… saw a lot more mammals than I was expecting (mainly because of a whole stack of bats… I think a shitload of bats is the correct scientific term). Highlights included Baird’s Tapir, White-lipped Peccary and a fabulous Silky Anteater.

http://mammalwatching.com/Neotropical/neotropiccostarica.html

Jon

ID help wanted with Mexican mammals

Hi all.

I wonder if anyone out there can help me identify some mammals (mostly squirrels) I saw on a a birding trip to western Mexico in 1999. The volume of “Mammals of the Neotropics” dealing with Mexico was supposedly about to be published back then, so I thought I’d wait till that came out to ID them. However, more than 10 years later, there’s still no published guide to mammals of Mexico away from the far south east, and nothing very helpful online, so I thought I’d see whether anyone can help with any of the IDs. I’d be really grateful for any help anyone can provide on the following:

A rather large, long-tailed squirrel, more or less all grey (lacking the red belly of Red-bellied Squirrel) seen in forest at Volcan de Fuego (Colima) and at La Bajada and Cerro San Juan (both near San Blas, Nayarit) – I suspect this (and/or the one below) is Collie’s Squirrel, but I can’t find any photos of this species online.

A small, plain-looking grey squirrel in mangroves at San Blas (Nayarit).

A small, greyish ground squirrel just outside Colima city.

A grey squirrel, looking very like Eastern Gray Squirrel, in forest along the Durango Highway (Sinaloa).

A large rabbit or small hare with rather short ears in forest at Volcan de Fuego (Colima).

A rather large, very dark brown, vole-like rodent (about the size of a Brown Rat) at Lerma Marshes, just west of Mexico City.

Finally, can anyone confirm that the bats roosting in the statue of the Virgin at Microondas La Cumbre (Colima) are Mexican Freetails?

If anyone can suggest IDs for any of these, or know who I might contact who could help, I’d be really grateful.

Cheers,

John Archer
London, England

Sightings from Amazonian Brazil – Primates and Short-eared Dog

During a one week stay in February at the Pousada Rio Roosevelt in the state of Amazonas, Brazil, we saw a number of good primates notably Prince’s Bernhard’s Titi Monkey and Marca’s Marmoset, in addition to Peruvian Spider Monkey, Brown Woolly Monkey (common here), White-nosed Bearded Saki, as well as White-fronted and Brown Capuchins and Bare-eared Squirrel Monkey. I also had what appeared to be an Amazon Dwarf Squirrel, but this species apparently isn’t supposed to range east of the Rio Madeira? We didn’t see much else here mammal-wise in large part due to the high waters. At the end of the dry season at this location (November) I have also seen Brazilian Tapir, Red Brocket Deer, Southern Amazon Red Squirrel, Collared Peccary and a few other species. Jaguars are seen regularly (indeed in November 2008 I chose to go upstream on my final morning; the other group present went downstream and were rewarded with an adult crossing the river). Andy Whittaker has seen Short-eared Dog here.

Marca's Marmoset (Callithrix marcai)

In a quick visit to Pakaas Palafitas Lodge in Guajará-Mirim in the state of Rondônia on the border with Bolivia we saw Brown Titi Monkey and more Bare-eared Squirrel Monkeys. We also saw a few Brown-throated Sloths. Both river dolphins can be seen from the lodge here, though inexplicably we missed them this time around – that said, I heard one surface in the river below while I was having an afternoon dip in the pool.

Speaking of Short-eared Dog, Duncan Ritchie and I saw this species extremely well last year (October 2009) at a distance of 25 metres when one walked out onto the path in front of us at the Pousada Rio Azul in the state of Pará, 120 km drive from Alta Floresta, Mato Grosso. This location is very reliable for White-faced Spider Monkey, White-nosed Bearded Saki and Red-handed Howler. Tapir is seen reliably in the dry season.

Both these lodges are on the web:  http://www.pousadarioroosevelt.com.br  and http://www.pousadarioazul.com.br

- Bradley Davis

Grizzly Bears on the move in Manitoba

Grizzly Bears are increasingly being reported in what used to be exclusive Polar Bear country

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100223121439.htm

White Nosed Syndrome in France

I got back from a stellar trip to Costa Rica yesterday – I am still trying to identify some of the bats I saw, but I guess I saw close to 50 different species of mammals including Baird’s Tapir, White-lipped Peccaries and Silky Anteaters plus about 20 different bat species. I will try to get a report done over the weekend.

Meantime here is an interesting paper on the White-nosed Fungus that is decimating cave dwelling bat colonies in the USA. The paper explains the fungus is present in France, but French bats might be resistant, so perhaps it has been here for a long time and animals now have acquired immunity.
http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/16/2/pdfs/09-1391.pdf
If anyone knows more about this please post your comments becuase its a very serious problem.

Jon