Sunday 20 June 2010

Camera trap visitors

On a forest trail near to our lodge, there is a mandovi tree with a hole in its center. Rain water collects in this hole to form a pool. A few weeks ago, we set up a movement-sensitive camera trap on the pool to see which creatures might come to it. What we discovered was very interesting.
The pool was visited by a toco toucan (Ramphastos toco)...

These birds are often found in forests, feeding on a range of food sources, including fruits, lizards, nestlings and birds' eggs. This toucan was using the pool for both drinking and bathing.
The pool was then visited by a ring-tailed coati (nasua nasua)...

Coatis are typically forest dwelling animals, and are both terrestrial and arboreal (they are excellent climbers). They have a similar diet to the toco toucan, eating fruit, small vertebrates, invertebrates and birds' eggs. This coati was drinking from the pool.

And then the pool was visited by a tayra (Eira barbara)...

Tayras, like coatis, live on the ground as well as in trees. They too will eat fruit, small vertebrates , invertebrates and birds' eggs, and they are known to have a taste for honey. This tayra was also drinking from the pool.