Maginot chamois babas

Thought I would post up an ever so slightly clearer picture of chamois taken in the Alpes Maritimes this summer. It is no exaggeration that I had to creep through a trench of the former Maginot line in order to capture this image, which as you could imagine was pretty exciting. The goat-antelopes were pretty timid and disappeared after a few seconds. It seems that even major wartime fortifications are not enough for me to display decent field craft.

It was great to see you last week Graham. What is more, our Mammalogging fieldtrip provided a mammoth list of 2 species if my memory serves correct. Three if you are still counting sheep!

Geoff

Squirrel drivel

Graham

In an earlier post about marmots, you threw in a couple of squirrels 'for good measure'. Well, I must say that is no way to treat squirrels. They are refined rodents that fully deserve to get their own dedicated post crammed full of essential facts.

So here goes...

Although squirrels are often despised by the mammalogerati, they are as interesting as any other rat up a tree. In the UK lots of folk get very exercised by the invasive Eastern Grey Squirrel and very excited by the persuasive Red Squirrel. Chestnut just looks that bit cuter, but remember underneath the fur lies the same nut-gnawing greedy guts. It is not the fault of the Eastern Grey, or should I say Eastern Gray, that is passed the pox onto its rufous Euro cousin and loves nothing more than bark stripping or munching on some baby Blue Tits.


vulgaris, moi?

Geoff

Fight! Fight! Fight!

Hi Graham,

Long time no post, so I hope that you are well. Looking forward to seeing you next month - are you thinking of staying for the weekend beforehand? If so then maybe we could manage a Mammalogia field trip into the highlands ...

In the meantime, here is the first of my photos taken in the French Alps this summer. Antagonistic behaviour Alpine Marmot style.

Maybe they are laughing at the fact that I can't ever get a shot in focus?...

Geoff

p.s. that's another point (and tick) to me I think

Pig headed stupidity

Well Graham, once again please accept my most sincere apologies, etc. etc.

I feel that I should respond to each of your last three posts - in deference to our avid readership and fan-base, of course.

Firstly, I think it would be quite acceptable to add your Siberian Chipmunks to your list. After all they are a feral and self-supporting population. Also it allows you to get into the lead 13-12.

Secondly, I, like you, have had the pleasure of turning cock-a-hoop in a gondola (as you most eloquently describe it) at the sight of Chamois. In my case I was ascending the Schilthorn and celebrated the sighting in style by sipping champagne with G et al. in a revolving restaurant. Sadly, my photographs were not as sharp or frame-filling as yours so I will refrain from posting them. Oh, I think that makes the score 13-13...

Thirdly, I do indeed have a picture of the boar Bush Pig that 'encountered' us in South Africa.

Nice, huh? I thought this picture was totally black until I did a little bit of judicious twiddling in iPhoto and revealed this menacing beast guarding his herd.

This photo was taken shortly before he started running in circles - a warning behaviour presumably intended to give us the opportunity to back off. Seeing this sort of antagonistic display, only fools would move closer on foot in the dark African bush, repeatedly misfiring flash-guns in the direction of the angry boar. In this heightened behavioural state any small additional factor could tip the boar over the edge into full-on attack. It wouldn't need to be anything like a Verreaux's Eagle Owl swooping by to attempt to take one of his piglets...

... but that would do the trick. As you know, when agitated, a Bush Pig can run very fast. Luckily, and unexpectedly, so can we...

Well, with that lesson safely under our belts we didn't do anything silly for the rest of the trip.

Come here piggy wiggys.

Pigs might fly

Hi Geoff,

I understand you're suffering from the burden of knowing that at any moment I'm poised to overtake you in the mammal count stakes - a lead you've kept since the early days of Mammalogia. Worse still, you must be wallowing in the heavy psychological doldrums that come with the knowledge that your all-time mammal count record - a magnificent 10 species - is soon to be broken. By a non-birder, nay an un-birder, to boot. I share your pain.

But there's hope on the placental horizon. I thought for our next joust we could share some old African memories. And where better to start that our old friend the bush pig, Potamochoerus larvatus. Now, I'm not sure either of us got a snap of the mad beast that charged us that dark and eventful evening. Sensing we were part of the Verreaux's owl mob, the old male's protective instincts - not to mention his rather large tusks - were heart warming if a little too close to our fast-retreating buttocks for comfort. But if you have even the fuzziest, darkest image of the mythical beast, I think it only fit that you post it pride of place on Mammalogia. And while we're on the subject of pigs flying - let's face it, that old bush whacker flew at us like a guided missile - I include a snap of a randy young warthog, Phacochoerus africanus, chasing a rather attractive warty female.

Graham 12, Geoff 12

Hope all's well.

Graham

Matterhorn Mystery

Hi Geoff,

Just back from a week in the Swiss Alps. Heavy snow - 60cm fell in one night. So much for spring. But the blizzard conditions did drive a group of mammals down to the forests just above Zermatt. Realising that some of my previous photos have been rather too large, sharp and perfectly exposed, I'm rather proud of this snap on my Blackberry. It was cold, the brandy was taking effect, the gondola was shaking... Just the sort of lbj challenge that I know you love. As C can testify, I was cock-a-hoop. A new species for me. But can you work it out?

On second thoughts, you should simply get points for spotting any mammal in this shot. So I'll save you the hair pulling - it's a Chamois, Rupicapra rupicapra. Our first bovid on Mammalogia I believe. Apart from my 736 sheep of course.

And here's the Matterhorn for good measure - the dots are, as you would know, alpine choughs.

So it's a nice round 10 species each.

Graham

I'll cap that with a capybara

I should have known I couldn't fool a fooler, Geoff.


Yes, the mountain critter in question was an alpine marmot with the enigmatic bionomial Marmota marmota. Snapped above Zermatt in Switzerland.


Groovy chipmunk. And not one I can match. We have our own chipmunks in the Foret de Soignes in the south of Brussels. Very cheeky chappies, particularly as they're feral Siberian chipmunks. I won't count that one, but just wanted to show my striped squirrel credentials.


Talking of rodents, I thought I should share a snap of the king of the gnawers - capybaras living in a tributary of the Peruvian Amazon. And while we're about it let's throw in a red and grey squirrel each for good measure.


Geoff 10, Graham 9




Keep those binoculars handy...


Graham

Cheeky chipmunk

Well, Hi Graham.

Sorry for the delay in my response, but I have had a major work thang to complete in the last couple of weeks. Normal service is now resumed, you will be horrified to hear.

What a puzzler that last picture is. I couldn't quite place the animal as a member of the North American marmots, but it is clearly an alpine species that likes to feed among patches of vegetation introduced from ski resorts in Switzerland. Let me guess, did you take the picture in a theme park or zoo? That would be a shame in terms of tickability, of course, though I suppose you might come up with some story about it being a mix up or something and tick it anyway.

Talking of ticks, thanks for the memory jogger - I had completely forgotten that our Seychelles companions were Black Rats so I was quite correct with my over inflated score from last time!

Anyway, for your pleasure, here is a picture of a cheeky chipmunk. I think it is a Sonoma Chipmunk and I photographed it at the awesome John Muir National Monument in California. This one is trying to steal a Jack Wills bodywarmer carelessly left lying by an unsuspecting tourist.



Hope that all is well,

Geoff

Quiz time

Hmm. Great photos. You can actually tell the difference between the monkey and the deer. Respect. You've got to admire those macaques don't you? The only known species that doesn't take off at the merest whiff of your scent, Geoff. As for the math, I like your moves. Very gentlemanly to concede the black rat. But perhaps that should come off your tally as a consequence? Nonetheless, are you suggesting that you didn't actually see one heading for the condensed milk in P's backpack on Silhouette Island? By the way, did I ever mention that those Hydrometra we found in a pool on our way down the mountain turned out to be a new species?

Anyway, back to mammals. I should say that I've seen the odd roe deer, though I confess I don't have a photo. So I think that makes us Geoff 6, Graham 5 (and 736 sheep).

Time for a new species. If I told you that this picture was taken in North America, would you hazard a guess at its Latin binomial? And no looking it up or asking expert ornithomammalogists. By the way, it's the small rock lookalike in the middle of the picture. Not the large rock lookalike at the front left. That's simply a large rock. Oh, and a bonus point for each lichen you can identify.

Bound to happen

Graham, nice math.

Just to save your scanner I'll post two pics of a Long-tailed Macaque (Imnotsuricanspelltheenglish nevermindthelatinname). This primate was, in fact, trying to mug a tourist, just like you describe. Can you tell? Luckily I fought back - there was no way it was getting my Canon, even if I don't have a prime lens. Geddit?


So, point reclaimed. But I must admit I am not going to be able to get that Black Rat on my list, unless maybe I go on holiday with you again. After all, my closest encounters with rats have been in your company...

Now, where to go next. Like a mammalian version of Mornington Crescent, many routes seem possible, but only one is possible. Yes, it is a mammal that I have actually seen this week so it therefore bounds into the blog: Roe Deer (Capreolus crapeolus).

These photos (that I took at a nearby site in November) clearly demonstrate how excellent fieldcraft can achieve a series of images of an individual going about its normal behaviour... err, with the emphasis on going.








Graham: 4

Geoff: 7

Totalogia: 8

Loads of primates

Great stuff. The photo is a bit fuzzy Geoff, even for a stationary animal, but nonetheless quite a coup. Unfortunately, I regularly see flying primates - every time I hop on Ryanair it seems to be crammed with Homo sapiens. Or should that be Linnaeus' five-toed man? Still, good for you. Oh, and no, I won't be including the good old-fashioned human on the species list. How about another primate I saw in 1996 in Malaysia. Yes, the famous Batu caves just outside Kuala Lumpur, festooned with Hindu shrines and teeming with Long-Tailed Macaques, Macaca fascicularis. Of course back in the nineties, I had my trusted Nikon FM2, so I don't have a digital photo to hand - will scan one day. Out of interest, fascicularis means a small band, as individuals tend to go around in groups and, in the wild, mob unsuspecting tourists for an easy snack.

I've also realised that you got in cleverly with Brown Rat. It almost escaped me that I should retaliate with my own brown rat, not to mention a black one. My first brown rat sighting was at the age of about 4 in the family back garden. But it wasn't until my brother bought The Stranglers album, Rattus norvegicus, that I started getting interested in taxonomic nomenclature. The only Black Rat I can recall was in the Seychelles - a cute little fellow with a white bib. Ah, but then we saw Rattus rattus together, didn't we?

So by my calculations that brings us to Geoff 5, Graham 4. And between us, a grand total of 7. Impressive

Tioman Para-primate

Very impressive pics, Graham, and sharp too! I think it was fortunate that it was a slow moving subject.

I took the liberty of linking your post to a mammal thread on BirdForum here and expert opinion has come to your rescue:

it is a two-toed sloth (very different facial structure to three-toed sloths so easy to tell apart even if you can't count their claws). The species that occurs in Santerem should be the Linnaeus' two-toed sloth Choloepus didactylus

(thanks Chlidonias)

So there's your tick - Linnaeus' two-toed sloth. That's typical of you to go back to first principles and start your list with a Linnaeus...

How can I respond to this beclawed arboreal challenge? Well, how about this highly cropped and fuzzy pic of what looks like a small deer shoved into a sack and suspended in a tree. Yes its that Sunda Flying Lemur or Malayan Colugo that I spotted on Pulau Tioman a few years ago. Since then the colugos have been placed in the same evolutionary cluster as primates you'll be relieved to hear - so maybe this form would be best known as the Tioman Para-primate.



So, by my reckoning that makes the scores

• Geoff: 4
  
• Graham: 1(+736 sheep)
  

Slowly does it

Alright Geoff, you've thrown down the furry gauntlet. Time to retaliate. On our way down the east coast of Britain today I spotted 736 mammals. All of them sheep. And before you say, wah wah wah, not allowed, domestic not wild, let me remind you that we have no rules on Mammalogia. So, 3:1 methinks. And there's more. Check out this little critter. Not being a pedant, I never bothered counting its toes. Suffice to say, young man, that it was spotted directly above my head in the national forest of Tapajos, Santarem in Para State, Brazil. And the species is?

3:2

The porpoise of this blog

Graham

Nice to see you and hope that you and C have returned home safely.

I thought that we should start off by making it clear that the porpoise of this blog is to record our mammal sightings and photographs and compile our lists of successful sightings.

So, this is just to let you know that the game is on and I hereby draw first blood with the Harbour Porpoise that I photographed in the Irish Sea last week. On the same trip I recorded Common Seal and, as a lovely additional roadside sighting, Brown Rat.

So, by my reckoning the current score is Geoff 3-0 Graham!

All the best

Geoff

Harrowing truth

Actually, Graham, it was a discarded harrow. And it did look a bit like a rabbit. Sort of.

To be honest I thought it might be a badger.

Geoff

Giant Rabbit

This is our first mammalogia blog. Went for a great walk today around Edinburgh. But it was cold. We only saw one mammal in the evening darkness. A giant rabbit. Or so Geoff thought. It was a barrel. We're hoping for better luck next time!

G and G