Mupi’s Marsupial Mana!

Greetings Everyone,

The next leg of our Indonesian odyssey has brought us to West Papua, the Indonesian part of the second-largest island in the world, New Guinea. We flew from Sorong to Manokwari, where we met up with the rest of our group on a trip arranged and escorted by Martin Royle of Royle Safaris and still guided by Carlos Bocos. We departed the hotel at 3:00 am the following morning for the 1-hour drive to Mupi Beach. Here we met our porters who would carry our duffels, food, and other essentials to Mupi Village. We set off around 4:30 am in the darkness with our headlamps lighting the way. The trail soon became very steep, muddy, and slippery. It was slow going, but after climbing 2000 feet, the grade had leveled out, and it was now light. 

Hiking Up to Mupi

In 4 and a half hours, we reached the Teu River. To my dismay, we had to cross the raging river on a slippery fallen tree trunk with some rickety handrails! The porters attempted to repair the railings, but I was ready to turn back! 

1st Log Bridge

To add insult to injury, there were leeches! Marc had already been leeched and his sock was a bloody mess. There was no way I was going to cross the log bridge standing. The only safe way was to straddle it and scooch across. Surprisingly, the others agreed with my plan of attack, and we all safely scooched across while the porters crossed barefoot with heavy loads. We took a break on the other side, where Hans, our local guide, broke the news that there were three more log bridges to cross! Thankfully, they were much easier. The tree trunks were wider and drier, so it was safe to walk across. 

Last Log Bridge

We made the last river crossing in 6 hours and stopped for another break. Here we spotted our first mammal, a Javan Rusa Deer. We still had another 2000 feet of straight-up climbing to do. Thankfully, the villagers had built handrails along the steepest sections. Marc and I were struggling with our heavy packs, and Carlos carried Marc’s, while Marc took mine. We were now following two women porters. If they could make the climb barefoot with heavy loads, so could I with no load and sturdy hiking boots! Carlos said we were nearly there, but it seemed to take forever. We finally reached Mupi Village at 1:40 pm, 9 hours and 15 minutes after we had set off!

Village of Mupi

The village was small, consisting of 2 houses, a church, 2 kitchen buildings, and 2 outhouses. The villagers had taken one house, and we had the other. There were 3 separate rooms, and we were assigned one. I was curious about the church and went to check it out. It was basically one large open room with a pulpit and red plastic chairs piled in two corners. It was clean, and two sleeping pads had been laid on the floor, so we opted to stay in the church. We’d have plenty of room and privacy. We were served a late lunch/early dinner before setting up our extra sleeping pads and liners to take a quick nap before our first night walk.

Our Mupi Accommodation

We left the village at 7:30 and headed back down the main trail. We spotted our first cuscus, a Northern Common Cuscus. These nocturnal marsupials inhabit northern New Guinea and have been introduced on surrounding islands. This individual was a gray morph and was perfectly adapted to an arboreal lifestyle, feeding on leaves, fruit, and bark. A second Northern Common Cuscus, a stunning white morph, was found. 

Northern Common Cuscus

The third cuscus we encountered was a different species, a Ground Cuscus, even though it was in a tree. The Ground Cuscus differs from all other cuscus in spending days in burrows in the ground and appears as comfortable at ground level as in the trees. 

Ground Cuscus

An hour and 45 minutes later, we returned to a quiet Mupi as all the villagers had gone to bed. We turned in after a very grueling but successful day. We had made it to Mupi Village and found our first mammals!

The villagers woke us up early with their loud chatter, so we got up and watched a bird feeder with pandanus fruit set up nearby. Both Superb and Magnificent Bird-of-Paradise visited. Flocks of Fairy Lorikeets and a Pesquet’s Parrot flew overhead. A bird hide had been set up in the forest about 100 meters away, from which we saw Black Sicklebill, Fan-tailed Berrypecker, Western Parotia, Magnificent Riflebird, and Magnificent Bird-of-Paradise. 

Magnificent Riflebird

That afternoon, I tried taking a nap, but when I looked up from my sleeping pad, I could see what appeared to be a snake coiled up on one of the rafters. A look with my bins confirmed it was a snake! We asked the villagers to remove it, but they came armed with a machete and were intent on killing it. The last thing I wanted was snake guts and blood on my things, so we told them we’d wait for Carlos. When he returned, he used a stick to lift the snake from the rafters. The villagers were terrified and ran around shrieking. I later identified the snake as a Brown Tree Snake, which is only mildly venomous. Although native here, this snake was accidentally introduced to Guam after World War II and is now infamous for being an invasive species responsible for extirpating the majority of the native bird population.

Brown Tree Snake

Tonight’s night walk was on a steep, slippery trail with a side slope behind the village. The terrain was difficult, and Marc and I got leeched, soaking our socks and pants with blood! The exertion was worth it as we picked up three new mammal species in addition to the two cuscus species we found last night. The Striped Possum was hidden in vegetation and difficult to see. This nocturnal marsupial is native to New Guinea and Queensland, Australia. It’s unusual in that it has an elongated fourth digit, which it uses to extract insects detected by percussive foraging from under the tree bark. Only three species of mammals are known to use this method of foraging and are sometimes referred to as “mammalian woodpeckers”.

Striped Possum

We had better luck with finding and viewing a Reclusive Ringtail. Another nocturnal marsupial, this possum is endemic to the Arfak Mountains here in the Vogelkop Peninsula of West Papua! 

Reclusive Ringtail

The third new mammalian species was a Chestnut Tree Mouse. We spotted two, but only one paused long enough for a photo.

Chestnut Tree Mouse

Fortunately, there was no church service the following morning, and we slept in until 6:30. We went to the creek to wash our bloody clothes and had just finished when we got the call that a Grizzled Tree Kangaroo had been found by the villagers! We rushed back to the church and grabbed a few things before heading off into the forest. It was tough going bushwhacking up and down steep slopes. I wanted to give up and asked Hans how much further. He replied 30 minutes, so we pressed on. Thirty minutes later, I asked Hans how much further, and he replied 25 minutes! I really wanted to give up, but we were so close. We could hear the villagers hooting and hollering at the site. It was one more steep climb down and then straight up before we reached the site, two and a half hours after setting off! A female Grizzled Tree Kangaroo was on top of a tree about 50 meters away. Supposedly, she had a joey, but we never saw it. The Grizzled Tree Kangaroo is an uncommon marsupial native to western and northern New Guinea. They spend most of their time in the trees feeding on leaves, fruit, and bark.

Grizzled Tree Kangaroo

Now for the arduous return trip. Thankfully, another villager helped me on the steep sections, and he cut a trail with his machete along the way. We got back to Mupi very tired but ecstatic that we had seen a Grizzled Tree Kangaroo, one of the prime targets for our trip. Early the next morning, the village kids showed up with a baby Müller’s Three-striped Dasyure. Not much is known about these carnivorous marsupials found only in western and northern New Guinea. It was terrifying to be carried around by the tail, and we convinced the kids to let it go on a tree so we could get some photos of it in a more natural setting.

Müller’s Three-striped Dasyure

Later in the morning, the call came in that a Vogelkop Tree Kangaroo had been located! It only took 2 hours and a climb of 1000 feet to reach the site. The tree kangaroo was about 50 feet up a tree and peered down at us. The Vogelkop Tree Kangaroo is endemic to this part of New Guinea and spends most of its time in the trees feeding on leaves and fruit. Another prime target viewed and photographed!

Photographing a Tree Kangaroo (Photo by Hans)

Vogelkop Tree Kangaroo

Back at Mupi, we were served an early dinner and rested up before going on a night walk. It was very quiet mammal-wise, and we only saw 2 species: a Common Blossom Bat and a Northern Common Cuscus. The following day, we hung out in Mupi Village trying to recover from 4 arduous days in the Arfaks and prepare for another night walk. It was eerily quiet for the first two hours. We hadn’t seen a single mammal except for a bat or two. Right after we decided to turn back, Carlos spotted a possum high up in a tree. It was an Arfak Ringtail, a new mammal for us! Little is known about this species, which is restricted to the Arfak Mountains in the Vogelkop Peninsula.

Arfak Ringtail

Soon after, we spotted three Northern Common Cuscus. Two were feeding in the same fig trees as on a previous night. We took the “easier” way down, encountering Moluccan Naked-backed Fruit Bats and a Common Blossom Bat.

Moluccan Naked-backed Fruit Bat

We spent a leisurely final day in Mupi in preparation for the long trek out the following morning. Marc and I opted to do a shorter night walk around the village and went to the bird hide to see if there were any nocturnal mammals feeding on the fruit. There were none, so we headed back, spotting some eyeshine on the way. At first, I thought the reflection was from a spider because it was so small and dim, but it turned out to be a Reclusive Ringtail! 

Reclusive Ringtail

I didn’t sleep well the last night in Mupi. A brief rain shower had me worried that we’d have to hike down in the pouring rain. I heard thunder in the distance and saw a flash of lightning, but thankfully no more rain. After 6 nights, we were leaving Gunung Mupi and took a group photo before setting off just before 7:00. 

The steep hour-long descent down to the river wasn’t too difficult thanks to the wooden railings the villagers built for us. The first three fallen tree trunk bridges were straightforward, and we crossed them easily. We reached the last log bridge and straddled it as we had done on the way in. It was up and down over several small ridges before we climbed out of the river drainage for good. Whew, the hard part was over, or so I thought, but we still had another 2000 feet to descend! Marc and I were struggling on the steep, slippery sections, but Hans was there to offer a helping hand. It was a grueling two hours back to the trailhead where our vehicles and the villagers were waiting. Marc and I climbed into the back of the van with a few of the porters for the drive back to Manokwari. 

Driving Back to Manokwari. 

Back at the hotel, we were rewarded with a warm shower and a comfy bed! Although our visit to Gunung Mupi was physically challenging and the accommodation a bit on the rustic side, we are so grateful to Julius and the villagers of Mupi for sharing their home and wildlife with us! It was a privilege to see so many endemic marsupials that we hadn’t even heard of before this trip. A big thank you to Hans and Carlos for getting us safely up and down the mountain and for finding us so many wondrous creatures! On to the next leg of our Indonesian odyssey, where more amazing animals await!

We hope all is well with everyone,

Marc and Peggy

Our route map:

  Gunung Mupi Mammal List: May 24 - 30, 2024

No.	Species	Scientific Name	Comments
1	Javan Deer	Rusa timorensis	introduced
2	Northern Common Cuscus	Phalanger orientalis
3	Ground Cuscus	Phalanger gymnotis
4	Striped Possum	Dactylopsila trivirgata
5	Reclusive Ringtail	Pseudochirops coronatus	endemic
6	Chestnut Tree Mouse	Pogonomys macrourus
7	Grizzled Tree Kangaroo	Dendrolagus inustus
8	Vogelkop Tree Kangaroo	Dendrolagus ursinu	endemic
9	Müller’s Three-striped Dasyure	Myoictis melas
10	Common Blossom Bat	Syconycteris australis
11	Moluccan Naked-backed Fruit Bat	Dobsonia moluccenis
12	Arfak Ringtail	Pseudochirulus schlegeli	endemic

Sulawesi, Bridging the Gap!

Greetings Everyone,

Our quest to see the amazing biodiversity found on Earth has brought us to Sulawesi, one of the islands that comprise the Asian country of Indonesia. Sulawesi is special because it is located in a transitional zone between Asia and Australia and has animals of both origins. Our goal was to find some of these endemic mammals found here and nowhere else on the planet. We were greeted at the Gorontalo Airport by our guide Carlos Bocos and local staff. We piled into a Toyota 4x4 for the 5-hour drive to Nantu Village. We settled into our guesthouse and waited out a torrential thunderstorm before venturing into nearby Nantu Forest for a night walk. 

Marc in the Nantu Guest House

We were joined by two rangers who led us past cornfields and coconut plantations to the shore of the raging Paguyamon River. The water was deep and swift, and Marc and I each latched onto a ranger for the crossing. We made it safely across and followed a path to the rangers’ station. We were fortunate to have been allowed into the forest after dark, as night walks aren’t usually allowed. 

Meeting the Forest Rangers

The first mammal we encountered on our walk was a Sulawesi Rousette or Sulawesi Fruit Bat, one of the more common species found here. The Sulawesi Rousette is endemic to the island of Sulawesi and is the only member of the genus Pilonycteris.

Sulawesi Rousette

One of the rangers spotted a Jatna’s Tarsier, one of the species I most wanted to see! Jatna’s Tarsier is a tiny nocturnal primate endemic to northern Sulawesi. In 2017, Jatna’s Tarsier was split from Gursky’s Spectral Tarsier due to their distinct and separate acoustic duet calls between males and females.

Jatna’s Tarsier

We weren’t picking up any eyeshine with our headlamps and had to rely on Carlos’s thermal imager to spot mammals. He detected a second species of fruit bat, a Wallace’s Stripe-faced Fruit Bat, another Sulawesi endemic and listed as near threatened by the IUCN.

Wallace’s Stripe-faced Fruit Bat

The night was capped off by a second Jatna’s Tarsier, two species of frog, and a land snail. It was getting late, so we headed back to the rangers’ station. Near the river, I spotted eyeshine! It turned out to be four Javan Deer, an introduced species here.

Javan Deer

We were up early the following morning in anticipation of seeing a Babirusa, a bizarre species of wild pig that was on my most-wanted-to-see list. It meant crossing the swiftly flowing river again and hiking a mile into the forest to a hide that had been set up at a salt lick or bai. 

Babirusa Hide

We sat quietly in high hopes that the Babirusa and Sulawesi Warty Pigs would enter the bai. Around 9:00, Marc spotted a macaque! Two Heck’s Macaques entered the bai and sat on a log on the edge of the clearing, but we didn’t have a great view of them. After 15 minutes, they got up and recrossed the baie so Marc was able to get some good photos.

Heck’s Macaque

We waited and waited for the pigs to arrive, but they were a no-show. A few birds, mostly doves, dragonflies, and a lizard entertained us. While Marc was trying to photograph the lizard, I spotted a Common Water Monitor crossing the bai. About 5 minutes later, we heard something big rustling through the grass. It was the monitor lizard. It almost entered the hide but saw us and tore off! It was nearing 3:00 pm, and we had given up hope that the Babirusa and Sulawesi Warty Pigs would show up. I was bummed but we still had tomorrow to try again. No sooner had we set off when the skies opened up and we were drenched in the sudden downpour. We rushed to the river to cross before it got too high, not even bothering to change into our river shoes.

We were up for an early breakfast and departure for our second attempt at the hide. There were more clouds around this morning, and I hoped they’d disperse as the sun rose higher. We hiked to the river, and the sight before us left us all in dismay. The river had risen significantly and now reached the log where we had changed our shoes yesterday! 

Swollen River Crossing

Carlos stripped down to his shorts to test the waters. He made it across, but the water was up to his crotch. It would be above my waist. He returned, and it was clear he had to use all his body strength to fight the current. There was no way we could make it safely across. Curses, we’d miss the Babirusa and Sulawesi Warty Pigs! We had no choice but to return to the guesthouse and decided to move on to our next destination.

Leaving Nantu

It ended up taking us 10 hours to reach the Totabuen Citawaya Hotel in the city of Kotamobagu! The hotel was very nice and modern, with a hairdryer to help dry out our still soggy boots. After dinner, we prepared to do a night walk in Bogani Nani Wartabone National Park, also known locally as Toraut, an hour’s drive away. To enter the park, we had to cross a creek on a bamboo raft. On the other side, we entered the forest and found our first mammal, a Gursky’s Spectral Tarsier. Named for Dr. Sharon Gursky, this tarsier is the one from which Jatna’s Tarsier was split in 2017.

Gursky’s Spectral Tarsier

With his thermal imager, Carlos spotted what he thought was a Sulawesi Dwarf Cuscus, but it turned out to be a Sulawesi Giant Rat. We did see two more rats, both were Northeastern Xanthurus Rats. 

Northeastern Xanthurus Rat

A very unusual bat, a Pallas’s Tube-nosed Fruit Bat, was spotted. It had yellow spots on its wings, which I thought were leaves. I’d never heard of a bat using camouflage for roosting, but why else would it evolve this way? I later read that “ with their brown, yellow and pale green splotches, Tube-nosed Fruit Bats have amongst the most colorful wings of all bats. The patterning acts as camouflage, resembling dead leaves when at rest amongst rainforest trees.”

Pallas’s Tube-nosed Fruit Bat

Although mammals were the focus of our night walk, we weren’t ignoring the birds. Carlos got very excited when he spotted a tiny bird roosting on a branch above the trail. It turned out to be a Rufous-throated Flycatcher, a near-threatened species that is usually difficult to see. 

Rufous-throated Flycatcher

We also saw a few tiny Mouse-eared and Woolly Bats hanging from twigs. Identifying them to the species level proved difficult. The final bat species we could identify were Dark Sheath-tailed Bats roosting under a palm frond.

Dark Sheath-tailed Bats

The most exciting find of the night was a Small Sulawesi Cuscus! It was high in a tree, making photography difficult but not impossible for Marc.

Small Sulawesi Cuscus

We made our way back to the creek, crossed on the bamboo raft, and drove an hour back to our hotel. We turned in around 2:00 am after a very long day. The following morning, we returned to the park to search for Gorontalo Macaques along the road. They were proving to be elusive, but we managed to pick up a new mammal, a Whitish Dwarf Squirrel. Finally, our guide spotted a small troop of macaques in the forest. It was difficult to get a clear view, but we managed a glimpse here and there.

Gorontalo Macaque

The Gorontalo Macaque is one of seven macaque species endemic to Sulawesi. They are range-restricted to the central section of the northwestern peninsula, where they spend 96% of their time in the trees. We returned to our hotel and, after a late lunch, drove to our next destination, Tangkoko Batuangus Nature Reserve. We arrived late, and after the long drive, we decided to forego a night walk. 

Morning came quickly, and we were up early to start our search for Sulawesi’s more famous (or infamous) residents, the Celebes Crested Macaques. We were joined by local guide Enyse and followed a trail through lowland forest. Enyse spotted a Bear Cuscus, one of our key targets! We got a decent view before it climbed higher into the foliage. We were walking away when Carlos noticed it was coming back down. The cuscus perched in the open on a thin branch and watched us, amazing! 

Bear Cuscus

The Bear Cuscus is an arboreal marsupial endemic to Sulawesi and the surrounding islands. Very little is known about these intriguing animals. There were two more Bear Cuscus, but they were high up in the trees. We headed off into the forest to look for squirrels and roosting bats. Carlos searched every hollow tree for bats and managed to find a Lesser Short-nosed Fruit Bat, a male and female Sulawesi Horseshoe Bat, and some Lesser False Vampire Bats. 

Lesser False Vampire Bats

Enyse got a call that the macaques had been located, and we headed back towards the beach to find them. We reached the main trail and turned left. Enyse got a call that the macaques had moved, so we turned around and headed in the opposite direction. We soon encountered a large troop! Enyse said there were up to 70 individuals in this group. 

Celebes Crested Macaque

They were well habituated, and you could approach closely, although we kept a safe distance. The males have large canines and can be aggressive. 

Celebes Crested Macaque

The Celebes Crested Macaques live in Tangkoko and on some smaller neighboring islands. They are critically endangered, with only 4000 to 6000 in Tangkoko.

So what makes the Celebes Crested Macaque the island’s most famous resident? The answer may surprise you. They were involved in several disputes regarding the copyright status of selfies taken by the macaques on a game camera set up by a British wildlife photographer, David J. Slater! The court ultimately ruled in favor of Slater, finding that animals have no legal authority to hold copyright claims. Slater’s legal battles left him broke and depressed, but he was delighted that the publicity had led to tourists visiting to see the monkeys, providing a longer-term benefit to the community and the impetus to protect the Celebes Crested Macaques.

We watched as the group foraged for fruit in the forest or through trash on the beach. One male was banging a coconut on a rock to get at the meat inside. 

Celebes Crested Macaque

Infants were nursing or playing with one another. Young males were aggressive towards each other, and several fierce scrabbles broke out. We left the group in peace and headed back to the car park.

After some downtime, we returned to the reserve in the late afternoon to visit a tarsier roosting tree and wait for the primates to emerge at dusk. Other tourists, the first we had encountered on our trip, had already gathered at the “Tarsier Tree”. A Gursky’s Spectral Tarsier poked its head out around 5:45, and naturally, everyone wanted to take its photo. At about the same time, Marc spotted another mammal heading down a branch toward the trunk. It was a Celebes Dwarf Squirrel, a mammal we had yet to see. Unfortunately, in all the tarsier commotion, it fled back up the branch. A pair of tarsiers eventually emerged, giving everyone good views and photos.

Gursky’s Spectral Tarsier

We headed off into the forest to look for rats and bats. Carlos was picking up many rats with his thermal imager, but they were impossible to get a look at, let alone photograph. We chased them for nearly two hours before one froze in a tree, and Marc was able to photograph it.

Northeastern Xanthurus Rat

The following morning, we returned to the reserve with Enyse to search for a Celebes Dwarf Squirrel to photograph. Carlos kept looking under palm fronds for roosting bats and found a new species, Peters’s Fruit Bat.

Peters’s Fruit Bat

He lifted one frond and became very excited when he found some very unusual bats. These bats were clearly different, cream-colored with pink faces. The hope was that they were a new species for Carlos. Further investigation proved them to be Hardwickie’s Woolly Bats, a species that Carlos has already seen, but never in this area.

Hardwickie’s Woolly Bats

As we were nearing the end of our walk, Carlos and I heard what we thought might be a squirrel. Could it be, yes, a Celebes Dwarf Squirrel! There were actually two, and Marc was able to get a good photo.

Celebes Dwarf Squirrel

We returned to the lodge where we said goodbye to Enyse and thanked him for finding so many amazing mammals for us.

Leaving Enyse

After lunch, we drove to Manado, where we would spend our final night on Sulawesi. A big thank you goes to Olva and Brian for organizing the logistics and making sure everything ran smoothly during our stay. Our sincere gratitude goes to our driver, Maikel, who got us safely from one destination to the next and whose good company made the long drives pass more quickly. Finally, to our fearless leader, Carlos Bocos, who made this trip possible, and for his boundless energy in finding mammals and birds! 

On to West Papua with Carlos, where hopefully more wondrous creatures and epic adventures await us!

We hope all is well with everyone.

Peggy and Marc

Our route map:

Sulawesi Mammal List: May 15 - 20, 2024

No.	Species	Scientific Name	Comments
1	Sulawesi Rousette	Pilonycteris celebensi	Nantu
2	Wallace’s Stripe-faced Fruit Bat	Styloctenium wallacei	Nantu
3	Jatna’s Tarsier	Tarsius supriatnai	Nantu
4	Javan Deer	Rusa timorensis	Nantu
5	Heck’s Macaque	Macaca hecki	Nantu
6	Pallas’s Tube-nosed Fruit Bat	Nyctimene cephalote	Toraut
7	Gursky’s Spectral Tarsier	Tarsius spectrumgurskyae	Toraut & Tangkoko
8	Mouse-eared Bat	Myotis sp.	Toraut
9	Woolly Bat	Kerivoula sp.	Toraut
10	Dark Sheath-tailed Bat	Mosia nigrescens	Toraut
11	Northeastern Xanthurus Rat	Rattus xanthurus	Toraut
12	Small Sulawesi Cuscus	Strigocuscus celbenis	Toraut
13	Whitish Dwarf Squirrel	Prosciurillus leucomus	Toraut
14	Gorontalo Macaque	Macaca nigrescens	Toraut
15	Bear Cuscus	Ailurops ursinus	Tangkoko
16	Lesser Short-nosed Fruit Bat	Cynopterus brachyotis	Tangkoko
17	Sulawesi Horseshoe Bat	Rhinolophus celebensi	Tangkoko
18	Lesser False Vampire Bat	Megaderma spasma	Tangkoko
19	Hardwicke’s Woolly Bats	Kerivoula hardwickii	Tangkoko
20	Celebes Crested Macaque	Macaca nigra	Tangkoko
21	Polynesian Rat	Rattus exulans	Tangkoko
22	Peters’s Fruit Bat	Cynopterus luzoniensis	Tangkoko
23	Celebes Dwarf Squirrel	Prosciurillus murinus	Tangkoko

For a complete list of non-avian observations made during our trip, visit my iNaturalist journal post at: 

Sulawesi Tour, May 15 - 20, 2024