LA SELVA-BRAULIO CARRILLO MAMMALS 



135 



feeding on the fruits of Inga coruscans. Three kinkajous were seen together on 

 9 July 1988. Kinkajous at La Selva were reported to shuck the fruits of the palm, 

 Welfia georgii, eat the mesocarp, and drop the seeds to the ground (Vandermeer 

 et al. 1979). Pringle et al. (1984) saw one kinkajou in the Zona Protectora in 1983. 

 The biology of kinkajous was reviewed recently by Ford and Hoffmann (1988). 

 Additional records (1)— Puerto Viejo, Rio Sarapiqui, 300 ft [1 female, MVZ]. 



Procyon lotor 

 Raccoon, Mapachm 



Raccoons are found through North America and Central America from southern 

 Canada to eastern Panama, with the exception of the most arid deserts and high 

 elevations of the Rocky Mountains (Fig. 105). Two subspecies of Procyon lotor 

 are found in Costa Rica, P. I crassidens throughout most of the country and P. I 

 pumilus near the Panamanian border. A second species of raccoon, the crab-eating 

 raccoon {Procyon cancrivorus) , also occurs in the country; its known distribution 

 is southwestern Costa Rica, extending as far north as Quepos on the Pacific coast. 



Raccoons have been observed on only eight occasions at La Selva; six of these 

 were lone individuals, but two animals were seen together twice. The most recent 

 observation was in August 1987 of a single individual. This paucity of observa- 

 tions of animals as large and easily seen and identified as raccoons suggests that 

 they are uncommon. The biology of raccoons was reviewed by Lotze and Ander- 

 son (1979) and in Costa Rica by Sanderson (1983). 



Family Mustelidae 



Conepatus semistriatus 

 Striped Hog-nosed Skunk, Zorro Hediondo 



Striped hog-nosed skunks are found from Veracruz, Mexico, eastward along 

 the Caribbean coast of Central America to western Panama. The Costa Rican 

 subspecies, Conepatus semistriatus trichurus, is probably found throughout the 

 country but is observed infrequently. Where hog-nosed skunks are common, such 

 as the Monte verde area, they are frequently killed along roadways by passing 

 vehicles. 



Hog-nosed skunks are insectivorous-omnivorous terrestrial foragers. They are 

 one of the most strictly noctural of the Neotropical carnivores. As most observa- 

 tions of these skunks have been of single individuals, we assume that they are 

 solitary. 



A striped hog-nosed skunk was observed foraging at the 700-m base camp 

 along the Rio Cascante on two consecutive evenings and one was seen near the 

 2,600-m base camp in late April. There are 23 observations of striped hog-nosed 

 skunks at La Selva from 1979 through mid- 1988. Judging from the close prox- 

 imity in time and area, these sightings probably represent repeated sightings of 

 few individuals. In recent years, one individual has been seen almost every eve- 

 ning at dusk near the visitor center, in the adjacent second growth, and occasional- 

 ly on the Rio Puerto Viejo bridge. 



