Day 188 Olinguito – A Very Rare Sight!
Have you ever heard of the Olinguito? It is a brand new species, a mammal of the raccoon family, discovered in 2013. The species name, neblina, is Spanish for fog or mist, referring to the cloud forest habitat where it lives in western Ecuador and Columbia. It was named as one of the “Top 10 New Species of 2014”. It is the first new carnivorous mammal described in the Western Hemisphere in 35 years. We were lucky enough to get to see two of them during our visit. They come at night and are very shy. Of course, it helps that the lodge we stayed at fed them bananas. They did not like loud noises or light, so no flash photography was permitted. We used a flashlight and then for just a few minutes. The man who owns the lodge has seen three of them; two females and a male. I would bet they get to see babies before too long. Â They resemble a cross between a cat and a teddy bear with a very long tail.
