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Best mammals of 2013/Targets for 2014 (1 Viewer)

Mike Richardson

Mike Richardson

Formerly known as Skink1978
It's been a little quiet in the mammal section of Birdforum lately so I thought I'd start a new thread. The title says it all.

I had a fantastic mammal year in 2013 and I was lucky enough to fit in more mammal watching trips than I normally manage in a given year.

Highlights were as follows;

-February: Finally seeing Wolves in the wild on a short trip to Spain with several other BF members. We enjoyed two sightings of 10 individuals.

-April: A trip to Arizona was very productive. American Badger, White-nosed Coati, Ringtail and Black-footed Ferrets were my favorite sightings.

-July: A fantastic trip to Scotland with more BF'ers was another great experience. A phenomenal mammal haul included European Beaver, Risso's and White-beaked Dolphins and our target Black Rats.

-October: Finally, I more relaxed family trip to Florida allowed me to catch up with my first Black Bears (a mammal I managed to miss on several other trips to the US) and the elusive Eastern Spotted Skunk.

2014 will be much quieter with fewer trips (unless I win the lottery). However, a trip to North Africa in February will hopefully give me some lifers. I'm hoping for Sand Cat, Fennec Fox and a few other goodies.

So what about everyone else?
 
Its been a good year for me too, with many welcome repeats and the odd lifer.

Highlights

February - Indochinese Leopard, Marbled Cat and Tennasserim (If they really are?) Langur, Thailand.

May - Amur Hedgehog, China, lots, seen them before but had a really good look this time, Raccoon Dog and a few nice rodents.

September/October - Brazil, 13 Jaguar, 3 Ocelot, 3 Pampas Cat*, Brazilian Porcupine*, 7 Giant Anteater, 6 Brazilian Tapir, Yellow Armadillo, Maned Wolf, White-lipped and Collared Peccary, Giant and River Otter plus various primates, ungulates.

Otter on the local patch

Targets for 2014 Mmmmm Clouded Leopard, Giant Armadillo and maybe Snow Leopard again ;)
 
My year has definitely been slow on the natural history front. Finishing up a PhD, as well as lots of debt and little money has curtailed my travel.

Still I managed some new mammals. After 6 years in Laramie, I finally made my way to Yellowstone, although I was a bit early in the year. New mammals included American Bison, Mountain Goat, Brown Bear, Uinta Ground Squirrel, Yellow-pine Chipmunk, and North American Water Vole. My favorite were all the close encounters with Black Bear on the trip...9 separate sightings, as well as superb views of Bighorn Sheep, something I have seen before but only fleetingly.

I also visited New Zealand and Australia for research. New mammals encountered on this trip were Common Water Rat, Common Ring-tailed Possum, New Zealand Sea Lion, and New Zealand (Southern) Fur seal. Never had time to track down Hector's or Dusky Dolphins, and dipped on Bryde's whale, which is rather dissapointing.

No clue where I will be after May...so no clue what mammals will be possible!
 
2013 - Nothing. It's just been one of those years ( although 6 Amami Rabbit in one night wasn't too shabby ).

2014 - A definite Okinawa Spiny Rat ( and the Amami one, if I can get over ).I've seen 'rats' in the areas where they are still present, but never well enough to be sure. Anything deserty in Arizona.

Chris
 
2013:

Musk Ox in Norway, even if I was too fat to get right up to them; also wild Reindeer to replace the South Georgia introductions at last;

Congratulations to my trailcam for gripping us all off with Wolf in Spain - grrr!

Black Rat in Britain was my only tick but some very honourable mentions include loads of Lesser Horseshoe Bats, the Eurobeavers, Wildcat and various cetaceans on the Black rat trip, the fabulous Thetford Otters and Forset of Dea Wild Boars down to 2 feet.

2014: I have a general ambition to get five new mammals in Europe (to reach 100) and we are off to Yellowstone etc in the summer, again hoping for Wolf, and looking forward to Black Bear, Bison, Mountain Goat, Pronghorn and hopefully lots of other stuff.

In the UK if I have any targets then its the two terrestrials that haven't yet strayed in front of my camera: Common Vole and Wildcat. Not holding my breath!

John
 
Best for 2013 ( no sniggering please;)) - Talpa Europaea. Thought the scientific name may tart it up a bit.

Target for 2014 - Pine Marten (self found). This is likely to be the target for many years to come if previous trips are anything to go by:-C

Rich
 
ClarkWGriswold said:
Best for 2013 ( no sniggering please;)) - Talpa Europaea. Thought the scientific name may tart it up a bit.

Target for 2014 - Pine Marten (self found). This is likely to be the target for many years to come if previous trips are anything to go by:-C

Rich
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure if I saw T. europaea it would be my mammal of the year! Still need it for my UK and world mammal list.

For self found Pine Marten try driving around the Ardnamurchan Peninsula at night.
 
skink1978 said:
I'm pretty sure if I saw T. europaea it would be my mammal of the year! Still need it for my UK and world mammal list.

For self found Pine Marten try driving around the Ardnamurchan Peninsula at night.
Click to expand...
Cheers Mike. I've got a fortnight in Speyside next year so I'll be giving it my best then. Congrats on the wolves btw- fantastic animals.

Rich
 
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So many highlights this year:
Jan - Mouflon and Iberian Lynx
May - Tayra, Wooly Oppossum and various cool bats
September - Blackfooted cat, Aardvaark, Aardwolf and a cheetah hunting a giraffe.
October - Fallow and Sikka ruts; lifers for the missus
November - Live ferret on the island (shock factor was the highlight).

I'm hoping to add a few more as we're away to Nepal on Boxing Day. Indian Rhino and a few feline beasties may therefore sneak into being 2013 highlights and are definite 2014 targets.

Jaguar might be one we go for next year and I'm thinking its time to sweep up a few more aussie mammals
 
Definitely Wolves in February but my first Boar and Iberian Hare were good. No other new ones this year. Hopefully I can finally ad Pine Marten in 2014.
 
ClarkWGriswold said:
Best for 2013 ( no sniggering please;)) - Talpa Europaea. Thought the scientific name may tart it up a bit.

Target for 2014 - Pine Marten (self found). This is likely to be the target for many years to come if previous trips are anything to go by:-C

Rich
Click to expand...

When I saw one on my patch it was a real highlight - no need to tart up sightings of those as they are very rarely seen! Good luck with the Marten! :t:

For me I would say Weasels have been my highlight, both seeing my first one in my local town centre and then seeing a pair frolicking around a fallen tree in Dorset during the summer.
 
2013: Humpback Whale, Orca and Risso's Dolphin, all North Sea/Northumberland ticks B :)

2014: Pine Marten - but I want to do it the hard way and find it in Northumberland...

cheers
martin
 
I had a pretty dull mammal year, done 2 overnight stakes on a Badgers sett to no avail, another overnighter looking for Otters again no luck however managed to get the Otters on another night but still no luck apart from fleeting glimpses on the European Badger so my targets for 2014 are Badger and Pine Marten also if i am VERY LUCKY Wildcat but i will need to cross more than my fingers for that beauty.
 
ooh forgot, will defo make a proper attempt at otter this next year. I sense a trip to thetford in the offing.
 
it's been a bit quiet this year with mammals, mostly concentrated on birds, but Orca in the Varanger was a great start in March, forest dormouse in Greece was quite unexpected and on Sulawesi we managed 4 of the 7 endemic maquaces and quite a few spectral tarsiers. Also several wood rats there but could not i.d. them unfortunatly.

No plans for 2014 yet...

Pierre
 
A good year for me too. Only listing the new ones.
Earlier this year, the Iberian lynx and Iberian hare, Spanish ibex, Iberian fox
Then quite a few in Ecuador, starting with the Galápagos sea lion and Galapagos fur seal. On the continent, Venezuelan red Owler, Mantled howler, common Squirrel monkey, Pygmy marmoset, black mantled tamarin, spix's night monkey, Brown woolly monkey, lucifer's titi, western mountain coati, pink dolphin, monk saki, White-fronted capuchin, black agouti, Brown-throated sloth, red-tailed Squirrel
Hoping for some of the desert guys in Oman in January. Not sure about summer plans...
Happy holidays and Great 2014 to all ! Ugolino
 
I managed a trip to India in January. The main target was the obvious one (and indeed the trip only went to central India to maximise chances here). Highlights were a young tigress passing within a couple of metres of the car in Tadoba (just the two cars present), and another tigress with four cubs (born the previous August). Again, there was just one other car, but the idiot in it and his driver kept moving around with roaring engines, which presumably was the reason why the cubs stayed in the brush rather than joining their mother for a drink, so we didn't see them that well.

Also had Leopard (Tadoba), Dhole (Kanha), Sloth Bear (Kanha), Jungle Cat (Kanha), Gaur (Tadoba and Kanha), Golden Jackal, lots of Wild Boar, the common variety of deer and primate, and very fleeting glimpses at Nilgai and Chousingha (the latter didn't make it on my list), as well as some smaller mammals.

That was the big trip for the year, and very good looks at a Stoat at Minsmere, a Water Vole moving unconcerned around our feet at Doxey Marshes, as well as fleeting looks at a Weasel crossing a track were my only other mammal sightings to stick in my mind.

Andrea
 
This has been a very good mammal year for me! :t:

India, March: Tadoba and Gujarat - saw several tigers, a leopard & Sloth bear and a jungle cat which I have seen before, but always a joy to see.

Gujarat brought several new species/sub-species, desert fox and Indian fox, Asiatic Wild Ass, Indian grey wolf, Asiatic lion, Blackbuck, Chousingha.

Missed Dhole and Striped Hyena :-C.

Mozambique & Kruger/ Sabi Sands in August:

Humpback whales & humpback dolphins + bottle nosed dolphins in Moz.

Kruger produced some new mammals: Serval, porcupine. plus many mammals that I have seen before including leopard, cheetah, African Lion, Black backed & side striped Jackal, spotted hyena, a fabulous Civet in the daytime, genets, bush babies, white rhino and so on.

Spain, December:
4 elusive Iberian Lynx, plus Iberian Ibex, European Wild Boar & Mouflon.


Not sure where I'm going next year, maybe Borneo if anyone is interested. :t:
 
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