Mammal Watching Forum

So this is exciting. Trevor Jenner has just filled a gaping hole in the mammal fieldguide landscape, with his guide to the larger mammals of the Horn of Africa. Though it doesn’t cover bats, rats and shrews it does include every larger mammal from one of the world’s most interesting mammalwatching regions, which remains  – in many parts – underexplored. […]

Another mega sighitng from Nicholas McPhee in Bolivia. Has any other mammal got such a large claw to body size ratio? I vote for a name change to Bigfoot Armadillo. Anyway, whether Fairy or Sasquatch Armadillo, its a genus I would love to see. Pink Fairy Armadillo, Santa Cruz Department, 2020: Nicholas McPhee’s and Ivan Guiterrez’s report of a sighting after […]

1. The last issue of Journal of Vertebrate Zoology is entirely devoted to small mammals of Africa, with many papers of interest to mammalwatchers. 2. A new rodent genus with three species described from Ecuador. 3. A new langur from Myanmar. Most recent primate splits are not justified, but this one seems legit. 4. Bukhara myotis is a Central Asian […]

I will be leaving Johannesburg on 26 Nov for Kgalakadi Transfrontier NP (4 nights or more) and Augrabies Falls. From there I would likely head to Springbok, Namaqua NP, Strandfontein on the West Coast, Tankwa Karoo NP … ending in George around 16 Dec. I will have a 2WD rental with high clearance; with one seat available, sharing all costs and […]

Dominique Brugiere let me know about this site – https://www.ecologyasia.com/ – which I don’t remember seeing before. Looks like a great resource with a heap of info on South East Asia’s mammals (and other verterbrates). Lots of small mammals – check out the bats and rats here – as well as some mammal calls.   “Ecology Asia was launched in 2001, […]

The attached link to a youtube video is well worth a look. It is a compilation of video of wildlife (mostly mammals) taken in the Grebo-Krahn National Park in Liberia, which is a newly established park in the far east of the country. I’d never heard of it before. The video was put together by an organisation called the Wild […]

Here’s a new report from Justin Brown. Kauai, 2020: Justin Brown, and useful information on seeing Hawaiian Monk Seals.   Jon

1. I am thinking about organizing an expedition to Algeria in the winter of 2021/2022, preferably in November. The main focus will be on the mountains of Central Sahara, to look for Mzab’s gundi and possibly Saharan cheetah, plus a few local rodents and Saharan hyrax that are likely splits. Aoudad is common there, and surprises such as dama gazelle […]

Now this is exciting. The brand new Illustrated Checklist of the Mammals of the World just arrived and it is a thing of beauty. This two volume set covers more than 6550 mammal species. Each is illustrated and comes with an updated range map, IUCN conservation status, taxonomic notes and common names in English, French, Spanish and German. There is […]

A great report from William Freedberg’s trip to Ecuador in January, featuring what must have been a superb – and superbly rare – encounter with three Bush Dogs, one of my most wanted species. Tiputini and Cayambe-Coca, 2020: William Freedberg, 10 days & some great mammals including White-bellied Spider Monkey, Giant Otter and Bush Dogs. Jon

Would anybody be able to help me identify this bat species, I’m not the best with bats! Found inside a banana leaf in Danum Valley in Sabah, Borneo (2016).

Here’s a cool report, hot off the press from from Nicholas McPhee. Once again I am impressed with how much good stuff he was able to find in such a short time. Jaguar Land Reserve, 2020: Nick’s Adventure Tours, 3 days & 17 species including 4 Jaguars, 6 Ocelots, a prolonged Jaguarundi encounter and a Lesser Grison. Jon  

An August from John Rogers. Yellowstone, 2020: John Rogers, 4 days & 14 species including Snowshoe Hare, Wolf, Grizzly and Badger.   Jon

Hi everyone, I’m thinking of making my first post-lockdown travel to Uganda next year… I have been looking through all the trip reports, and have been trying to nail down a good, mammal-knowledgeable guide who may help me find some of the unusual or less common species, in addition to the obvious ones found in Uganda. The only name that […]

African wading rat (Colomys goslingi) is split into 4 species: C. goslingi (lowland Cameroon to Kenya), C. lumumbai (with a range similar to that of the bonobo), C. eisentrauti (Bamenda Highlands of Cameroon) and C. wologizi (very locally in Liberia and Guinea). The first author kindly sent me the PDF in case anybody needs it.

Here’s a new report from Dominique Brugiere who was travelling this month. Seems like Abruzzo National Park is definitely worth a vist! Abruzzo National Park and the French Alps, 2020: Dominique Brugiere, 17 days & many species including Brown Bear, Wolf, Pine Marten and Savi’s Pine Vole. Jon

A new bat species from mountains of Panama, Costa Rica and Ecuador. Check your photos from the area 🙂

Here’s a report from Hugh Lansdown – with some wonderful images – from the Isle of Mull. Mull, 2020: Hugh Lansdown, 10 species including Risso’s and Common Dolphins. Jon

Here’s an excellent report from Romania with a very impressive haul of 46(!) species as well as some killer photos of European Mink, which I had no idea were watchable anywhere anymore (other than Estonia). Romania, 2020: Saker Tours, 9 days & 46 species including Lesser Mole Rat, Lesser and Greater Mouse-eared Bats, Wolf, Bear and two European Minks. Jon

Hello, does somebody has experience in thermal cameras that can be mounted on cars for mammalwatching.  I found on the internet this one, but expensive  (ROVIR 640 19mm Vehicle Mounted Thermal PTZ System) : https://www.ultimatenightvision.com/ROVIR-640-19mm-p/rovir-0619.htm This looks fantastic, but i dont know if there exist same types for lower budget ? Also i found a much cheaper system : https://nightride.io/products/nightride-x?variant=31472396238891 (Night ride x), […]