We saw this young bobcat watching us from a ledge above the road in the Cerbat Mountains. It let me get some photos before it disappeared.
Category: Mammalia
Pygmy Marmosets in Their Tree
We were shown these amazing little primates, the smallest in the world; Western Pygmy Marmosets (Cebuella pygmaea). Each is only about the size of a hand, with the smallest we saw likely comfortable curling up in a donut. They stay in one tree and have a tiny home range, excavating holes in bark to get to the sap they eat. They were skittish but as they didn’t go far, relatively easier to photograph than other primates in my experience. Loreto, Peru.
Youlatos, D. (2009). Locomotion, postures, and habitat use by pygmy marmosets (Cebuella pygmaea). In P. Garber, A. Estrada, J. Bicca-Marques, E. Heymann, & K. Strier (Eds.), South American primates: Comparative perspectives in the study of behavior, ecology, and conservation (pp. 279–296). Springer. https://www.academia.edu/download/45603455/4_Youlatos_2009_Smallest_20Anthropoids.pdf
Squirrel Monkeys Watching Us
Tucuxi Jumping from the River
The Tucuxi (Sotolia fluviatalis) is one of a handful of dolphins living throughout the Amazon River complex. This is not the more famous Boto (Pink River Dolphin), but is often found swimming in groups alongside them.
This was one of a few in such a mixed group, surfacing here and there with some larger Boto and a few other Tucuxi. I lucked out with this shot, having spent the morning on a boat trying out some previously unused features in my camera that help to more quickly find and focus on fast-moving targets (birds). We were near the water photographing a snake, and I got a series of snaps in, and this one just decided to show off a bit. I was not expecting my favorite take-home from a trip to the Amazon to find reptiles and amphibians to be a mammal, but here we are.
Martin, A. R., & da Silva, V. M. F. (2004).
Home range and movements of Amazon river dolphins (Inia geoffrensis) in the Amazon and Orinoco river basins. Marine Mammal Science, 20(3), 535–552.
da Silva, V. M. F. (1994). Aspects of the ecology of the Amazonian dolphins Inia geoffrensis and Sotalia fluviatilis. Journal of Mammalogy, 75(2), 300–308.
American Black Bear
A bear and I look at each other across a ravine, likely doing similar things in the area … looking for small vertebrates.
Brown Throated Three Toed Sloth
Brown-throated Three Toed Sloth from Costa Rica back in November. I’ve rarely seen them be more than brown blob up in binocular range, so some activity (slowly of course) was nice.
Malibar Grey Langur
One of many langurs that watched our reptile-finding efforts in India last year.
