Eye of the Pangolin film – Virtual Screening with Live Q&A on Sat 11 April at 3pm EST/8pm UK/9pm Central Europe
This is a great idea from Dazzle Africa. If you haven’t gotten around to watching the Eye of the Pangolin film that was released last year – focusing on the four African Pangolin species – then here’s the perfect opportunity, with a virtual screening followed by a Q&A with...
Japanese mammal photos sought
Calling all Mammal Watchers who have photographed in Japan. Mark Brazil is seeking submissions of images of mammals taken in the wild in Japan for a new book that he is working on. He is particularly looking for good images of the following: Northern Fur Seal | Northern Fur Seal...
New Trip Report: Sabah and Sarawak
And here is another first time reporter – John Rogers – with aBorneo report that was timed perfectly pre pandemic! This was primarily a birding trip but plenty of mammals too. The Sarawak bits in particular (ncluding Hose’s Langur) might be the most interesting as they are off the...
Cat Tien NP, Vietnam, March 2020
Last month I visited Vietnam… for a much shorter time than planned. Luckily, the authorities decided that closure of Cat Tien would take place the day I was due to leave anyway, so I still had an excellent few days. Vietnam – Cat Tien March 2020
Virology update
According to a new study, pangolins have so many coronaviruses that they should never be touched without gloves. Personally, I decided never to handle wild mammals without gloves and a face mask again. The reasons are as follows: 1. You can pick up a (possibly unknown) pathogen and die....
New Trip Video-report: Sukau Rainforest Lodge, Borneo
This is fun, and a first for mammalwatching.com I think: a video trip report. Sukau Rainforest Lodge, Kinabatangan River, 2018: Scott Vanderpoel’s video report (just 3 minutes long), 3 days & 12 species incuding Colugo and Orangutan. Jon
Striped Hyaena, Indian Wolf, Indian Fox and other wildlife of Gujarat, March 2020: Trip Report
Please follow the link for a detailed report A brief, mammal watching oriented guided tour to the salt pans of the Little Rann of Kutch and the tropical grasslands of Velavadar produced carnivores galore – including Striped Hyaena, Indian Wolf, both foxes and Jungle Cat, most with pups/cubs, among...
New Trip Report: Sri Lanka
And here’s a first time reporter – Astrid Kindsvogel – with a trip to Sri Lanka. Wilpattu and Sigirya, 2020: Astrid Kindsvogel, 1 week & 47 species including Leopard, Fishing Cat and 2(!) Indian Pangolins. Jon
Mammal books available for free download
A number of US academic publishers are making books available for free download during Covid 19, via the Project Muse website. This includes a number of recent mammal books. Try this link, or if it doesn’t work for you go to the Project Muse website, search for mammals and...
(The world is) Closing Down Sale! Pandemic pricing for advertising here
Over the past year or so we have been building up a directory of mammalwatching guides, tour operators and lodges, where professionals can advertise for a small annual fee. It is obviously a very tough time to be in the travel business right now, and I feel for many friends...
Sabah, Borneo, March 2020
Sabah, Borneo, March 2020. Unfortunately, a trip report isn’t necessary on this occasion – a brief write-up will suffice. Me, Mark Bibby, Phil Telfer and Karen Baker arrived in Borneo on Sunday 15th March and returned to the UK on Monday 23rd after having to cut our trip short...
New Trip Report: India
And here’s another interesting report from India. Arunuchal Pradesh, Western Ghats and Gujurat, 2020: Andreas Jonsson, 3 weeks & 49 species including Binturong, Striped Hyena, Bhutan, Spotted and Particolored Flying Squirrels and much more. Jon
The Perfect Indian Itinerary…?
Hi everyone, As this time of Corona is preventing most of us from traveling abroad (and postponed a trip that I was personally very much looking forward to), I’m starting to think about my near-future travel plans for The Time After Corona. One of my next 5 destinations must...
New Trip Report: Northern India (on a budget)
Here’s a first report from Marc Tessier who was in Northern India last month. Northern India, 2020: Marc Tessier, 2 weeks & 23 species including Tiger, Striped Hyena, Goral and Himalayan Serow. Jon
A quick guide to mammalwatching.com: More than trip reports
It is already becoming a cliche I know, but I really do hope everyone is safe and well and trying to make the best out of these difficult weeks. There have been quite a few new subscribers to the mammalwatching forum over the past few months and so I...
Trustom Pond NWR mammals
After going for a bird in Narragansett, I headed for Trustom Pond NWR for a quick look. On the Osprey Pt. trail I saw what was probably a Meadow Vole, a couple of Muskrats (one eating less than 10 ft. away), an Eastern Chipmunk, and 3 Eastern Gray Squirrels. ...
New Trip Report: Lynx
Here’s an interesting – Covid-curtailed – report. It will be especially interseting to anyone left – other than me – who still has not seen a Eurasian Lynx. I heard a couple of years ago that Romania could be a good spot and this report proves it. Romania, 2020:...
Mammal track id
https://www.foothillpest.com/technical-pages/vertebrate-control-and-exclusion/mammal-tracks/ Any idea what made these tracks? Tuolumne County, California.
Primates and other Wildlife of Assam
For a detailed report please visit https://ficustours.blogspot.com/2020/03/stump-tailed-macaque-golden-langur-and.html A summary of a mammal-watching oriented guided trip (with a focus on Primates) to the lowland forests and floodplains of the Bramhaputra in Assam, northeast India. Mammal Highlights included superb species like Gee’s Golden Langur, Stump-tailed Macaque and Western Hoolock Gibbon among six...
Bats of the World Database
Bats of the World Database – www.batnames.org In July 2019 I attended the 18th International Bat Research Conference (IBRC 2019) in Phuket, Thailand (an hour’s drive from my house so logistics was minimal). Nancy Simmons gave a talk on the “Bats of the World Database” (the abstract copied below)...
Seeing Delmarva fox squirrel
I made a quick trip to Delmarva Peninsula to see the distinctive subspecies of fox squirrel. The best place is apparently the southern side of the loop trail called Woodland Trail in Chincoteaque NWR. The squirrels are a bit shy and tend to freeze when you walk by, but...
Mammal Listing Software: Scythebill
If you have a mammal list then the chances are you might be giving it a bit of a spring clean during all this time at home. So now might be the perfect time to think about how you record your mammal sightings. For many years I used the...
New Trip Report: Ladakh
I am fairly sure this will be one of the only trip reports from March 2020. Are any mammalwatchers out there still travelling now? Ladakh, 2020: Marco and Paola, 3 weeks & 13 species including Pallas’s Cat, Lynx and Snow Leopard. Jon
New Trip Report: Western Sahara
Here’s a new trip report from Samuel Marlin. Western Sahara, 2019-20: Samuel Marlin, 2 trips and 10 species including Desert Hedgehog and Fennec Fox plus a possible Sand Cat. Jon
New Trip Report: Bellavista and Coco Cayembe, Ecuador
A new report from Rauno Väisänen: interesting to read that Olinguitos were scarce at Bellavista. I hope this is just a temporary move by the animals to social distance! Bella Vista and Coco Cayembe, 2019: Rauno Väisänen, 1 week & species included Tayra, Oinguito, Spectacled Bear and Mountain Tapir. Jon
New Trip Report: Zakouma National Park, Chad
Here’s another report from Tom Clode. I would love to visit Zakouma – it looks incredible. Zakouma National Park, 2018: Tom Clode, 1 week & 31 species including Patas Monkey, Red-fronted Gazelle, Red-flanked Duiker and 16 Servals. Jon
Book Review: Mammals of the Southern Cone (Lynx Illustrated Checklist)
What to do you do when you have just spent 10 years preparing the most ambitious and comprehensive set of books ever on the world’s mammals? Take a long holiday would be my suggestion. But the industrious people from Lynx publishing house had other ideas. With some ingenious recycling...
Trip Report by Asian Adventures Birding Guide Deepak Kumar – Corbett National Park and Chambal River
Day 1 (22nd February) We left Delhi in the morning for Moradabad, reaching Moradabad post lunch. We had lunch en route at a small restaurant. After checking into our hotel, we decided to explore the town by auto rickshaw. For many this was an exciting experience as they were...
Trip Report by Asian Adventures Birding Guide Deepak Kumar – Rajasthan Leopard Tour
Day 1 (13th February) After the guests arrived in Delhi in the morning, we left immediately for Jaipur, where we reached at lunchtime. After lunch, I took the guests on a city tour to admire the various monuments of Jaipur, including the Amer Fort, Jal Mahal, Hawa Mahal, and...
New Checklist of the Mammals of Indonesia
Many thanks to Carlos Bocos for sending me this third (2019) edition of the Checklist to the Mammals of Indonesia. This is a particularly useful checklist as I don’t think there is a field guide to the mammals of Indonesia (if there is then please let us know!) Jon
New Trip Report: Western Australia including Bernier Island
Here’s a great report – in two parts – from Tim Bawden who took a cruise upon the Western Australian coast from Perth to Exmouth. The definite highlight was a stop on Bernier Island, the Shangri La of Australian mammalwatching. Perth to Exmouth Cruise, 2020 (Part 1 and Part...
New Trip Report: South Africa
A new report with some great pictures. South Africa, 2019: Ian Merrill, 17 days & 60+ species including Forest Shrew, Brant’s Whistling Rat, Brown Hyena and Black-footed Cat. Jon
New Trip Report: Cuban Solenodon
An entertaining report from Vladimir Dinets, who just took a Covidly complicated – to put it mildly – to Cuba. Cuban Solenodon, 2020: Vladimir Dinets, 2 days & several species inlcuding Cuban Solenodon and Prehensile-tailed Hutia. Jon
Western Ghats: Lion-tailed Macaque, Brown Palm Civet and other endemic mammals, a trip report
Please see http://ficustours.blogspot.com/2020/03/western-ghats-lion-tailed-macaque-brown.html for full report A brief, mammal watching oriented guided tour, with a focus on endemic primates, to the Anamalai mountains of the southern Western Ghats, produced all primates of the region (including Lion-tailed Macaque, Nilgiri Langur and Slender Loris), Brown Palm Civet and Nilgiri Tahr among 21 species...
Updated Mammal Checklist Now Available
I imagine many of you have already been affected by Covid-19, with cancelled trips, national lockdowns and the rest. Much more importantly I sincerely hope you, your friends and family are healthy and remain that way. I should have been packing to go to China about now. And then...
Tabasco Batting
Back in those halcyon days, before the collective name for a group of caution was “an abundance’ and when “social distancing” might describe me during conference coffee breaks, I went to Tabasco for a weekend’s batting. As always I teamed up with Juan Cruzado. And – as nearly always...
Squirrel ID´s from Northeast India
Have some problem to Identify Squirrels from the remote Arunachal Pradesh – Eaglenest in northeast India. All of them is found at around 2000 mas in almost unexplored area. The ones I have to deal with is Pallas squirrel, Hoary-bellied squirrel and Himalayan Orange bellied squirrel and I have...
NORTHERN ECUADOR NOVEMBER 2019
https://www.mammalwatching.com/wp-content/uploads/AE-NORTHERN-ECUADOR-NOVEMBER-2019.pdf
New trip report: Bobcat quest: Point Reyes, California
Bobcat quest
Spotlight for mammalwatching
Hello, I am looking for a hand-held flashlight or head-lamp for mammalwatching, with very good light (over 800 lumens), good throw and using commonly available rechargeable batteries. The M3X Triton has advertised 800 lumen, but in my experience a bit too short throw (smaller mammals far away, e.g. galagos...
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[…] Where to See: Marbled polecats are widely distributed from eastern Europe to western China, but seem most common in the steppe and aridlands of Central Asia. But they’re not easy to find. Mammal watching master Jon Hall spotted one in Mongolia, and other enthusiasts occasionally report sightings on the Mammal Watching forum. […]
[…] Where to See: Marbled polecats are widely distributed from eastern Europe to western China, but seem most common in the steppe and aridlands of Central Asia. But they’re not easy to find. Mammal watching master Jon Hall spotted one in Mongolia, and other enthusiasts occasionally report sightings on the Mammal Watching forum. […]
Hello blog,
I wish to organize a 10-day stay in Nepal in mid-February 2020 with my family (including two of my boys aged 12 and 14). I would like to visit the Chitwan National Park first and then move towards either the Bardia Park or a trek in the Langtang Valley.
So I have several questions: on Chitwan, do you know a good guide or good lodge to organize a stay of 3/4 days accés mainly on the mammals watching?
On Langtang, I would like to organize a trek to try to see the red panda and the Himalayan Thar. Do you know an agency or specialized guide in Nepal to offer a trek of 3 days in this zone?
Do you know if the Red Panda is visible in the Langtang area?
The trip will be organized around mid-February and I do not know if the valley is passable at this time?
If this is not the case, I will move towards a 3-day stay in Bardia Park. Here again, do you know a guide or a lodge that specializes in mammals?
I’m a little afraid that Chitwan and Bardia are quite similar in wildlife. For that I will first of all go towards the possibility of Langtang.
I am interested in any information.
Thank you in advance.
Best regards.
Philippe Paraire