Paul Carter, 21 Feb 2022
This post summarizes key mammal records (six species) from five nights (13-18 Feb 2022) in Boquete, Panama; staying at Los Naranjos Cottage; part of a two-week trip with Chi Phan. The record of Alston’s Woolly Mouse Opossum (Marmosa alstoni), currently listed as endemic to Costa Rica, is seemingly the first confirmed record for Panama. The Los Naranjos cottage is recommended as a place to stay if wanting to see Cacomistle; I don’t know of it being reported at any other accommodation in Boquete. These records are mostly from the two dry nights of our visit.
Contents below: 1) Sites; 2) Mammal List; 3) Images.
1. SITES VISITED
Areas in the Boquete area that I visited at night included the area around the Los Naranjos Cottage (listed on AirBnB, located near the river and with some forest), the Sendero Culebra (Culebra Trail), the road to Sendero Loz Quetzales and the road up to Boquete Tree Trek Mountain Resort.
2. MAMMAL LIST (Boquete AREA):
- Alston’s Woolly Mouse Opossum (Marmosa alstoni): seen at around 9 PM in a tree about 40 m southwest of the bridge at Lost Waterfalls Trailhead; see further notes and images here. Photo below.
- Common Opossum (Didelphis marsupialis): at Los Naranjos Cottage and elsewhere; common in the area.
- Greater Broad-nosed Bat (Platyrrhinus vittatus): seen on Sendero Culebra (2022 Feb 17). Photo below.
- Cacomistle (Bassariscus sumichrasti). Seen in trees near the river before it moved up to the trees outside Los Naranjos Cottage (2022 Feb 17). Photo below.
- Chiriquian Harvest Mouse (Reithrodontomys garichensis): seen around 9 PM from bridge at Lost Waterfalls Trailhead; in a flowering tree 15m downstream from bridge (2022 Feb 17). Photo below. Taxonomy: split from Reithrodontomys mexicanus.
- Talamancan Deer Mouse (Peromyscus nudipes): at Los Naranjos Cottage (2022 Feb 17).
3. IMAGES
