Striped Hog-nosed Skunk Conepatus semistriatus was camera-trapped in central Panama. The photographs, taken in a densely forested area, probably belong to a single, wandering, individual. These photographs represent the easternmost record of C. semistriatus in Central America and confirm an earlier, unvouchered, report that its distribution in Panama is larger than previously thought. The record is in the centre of the 700-km wide gap between two sub-ranges, suggesting that the species has a continuous distribution across Central and northern South America

Esser, H.J.

Jansen, P.A.

Kays, R.

Liefting, Y.

NARCIS 

A record of Striped Hog-nosed Skunk Conepatus semistriatus in central Panama, between two known sub-ranges

Wageningen Yield 

62Small Carnivore Conservation, Vol. 47: 62–64, December 2012
Blanca peninsula is a forest fragment of approximately 1,000 ha that is surrounded by water from the Gatun Lake section of the Panama Canal, and by Teak Tectona grandis plantations in 
the south. The peninsula supports secondary semi-deciduous tropical moist forest. Annual rainfall averages 2,600 mm with a pronounced dry season from mid December until the end of 
April (Dietrich et al. 1982, Windsor 1990).
On 19 March 2010, a male C. semistriatus was recorded 
on two camera-traps spaced 50 m apart. The animal first ap-
peared at 02h54, was detected by the second camera-trap at 
04h28, then re-appeared on the first camera-trap at 04h38 
(Fig. 2). Another capture was recorded by the latter camera-trap on 20 March, at 01h30. Sets of ten cameras that were de-ployed in two other parts of the Peña Blanca peninsula and at 
18 locations elsewhere in the Barro Colorado Nature Monu-ment did not capture C. semistriatus. Camera-trapping effort in 
the plot where the animal was detected was 80 trap-days, and 
the total camera-trapping effort for the entire Barro Colorado 
Nature Monument was 1,717 trap-days.Habitat use by C. semistriatus appears to be diverse. In Bra-zil, the species is mainly found throughout the Cerrado and Caat-inga, i.e., the savannah and shrubland ecoregions, respectively, 
where it seems to avoid dense forests (Cheida et al. 2006, Kasper 
et al. 2009). It has therefore been suggested that extensively for-ested areas could pose a barrier to the species’s distribution 
in Brazil (Kasper et al. 2009). Yet Ferreira (2008) recorded C. 
semistriatus in riparian forests within the Cerrado and Caatinga biomes, but only during the dry season, suggesting that these 
Striped Hog-nosed Skunk Conepatus semistriatus is a small 
carnivore known from three apparently disjunct regions in 
the Neotropics: from southern Mexico to the western border of Panama; along the South American coastline from Peru to 
Venezuela; and in an isolated area in eastern Brazil (Fig. 1). In addition, there have been unvouchered records of the spe-
cies occurring in central Panama (Araúz 2005). Being both nocturnal and solitary, little is known about the basic ecology and behaviour of Central and South American Conepatus spe-
cies (Kasper et al. 2009). Hog-nosed skunks are found in both open and wooded areas up to altitudes of 4,100 m, but seem 
to avoid dense forests (Nowak 2005). In addition, C. semistria-
tus appears to be somewhat adaptable to disturbances and is sometimes found close to human habitation throughout its 
range (de la Rosa & Nocke 2000, Cuarón et al. 2008). Although the species is listed by The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as Least Concern, local populations may be affected by hunt-
ing, use of pesticides and due to road kills (Cuarón et al. 2008, Alves et al. 2009, Kasper et al. 2009).
Between 17 and 25 March 2010, ten unbaited camera-
traps (Rapidfire RC55, Reconyx Inc.) were deployed in a 1 ha plot on the Peña Blanca peninsula of the Barro Colo-
rado Nature Monument in central Panama (79°53'7.684"W, 
9°9'42.985"N; map datum WGS84; measured altitude 48 m). The deployments were part of a larger effort to estimate the 
abundance and diversity of medium- to large-sized terrestrial 
mammals in 21 1-ha plots spread across the Barro Colorado 
Nature Monument, including Barro Colorado Island. The Peña 
A record of Striped Hog-nosed Skunk Conepatus semistriatus in central 
Panama, between two known sub-ranges
Helen J. ESSER1,2*, Yorick LIEFTING1,2, Roland KAYS2,3 and Patrick A. JANSEN1,2
Abstract
Striped Hog-nosed Skunk Conepatus semistriatus was camera-trapped in central Panama. The photographs, taken in a densely forested area, probably belong to a single, wandering, individual. These photographs represent the easternmost record of C. sem-
istriatus in Central America and confirm an earlier, unvouchered, report that its distribution in Panama is larger than previously 
thought. The record is in the centre of the 700-km wide gap between two sub-ranges, suggesting that the species has a continu-ous distribution across Central and northern South America.
Keywords: Barro Colorado Nature Monument, camera-trapping, extension of known range, Mephitidae
Registro del Zorrillo Conepatus semistriatus entre dos subáreas de distribución conocidas en el 
centro de Panamá
Resumen
El Zorrillo o Gato Cañero Conepatus semistriatus fue fotografiado por cámaras trampa en el centro de Panamá. Las fotografías fueron tomadas en una zona densamente boscosa y pertenecen probablemente a un solo individuo errante. Un reporte anterior 
indicó que la distribución de la especie en Panamá es más amplia de lo que se pensaba, pero esta se mantuvo sin fotografías o es-
pécimen de respaldo. Nuestras fotografías representan el registro más oriental de C. semistriatus en Centroamérica y confirman 
la extensión de su distribución como se había propuesto anteriormente. Además, el registro se localiza en medio de una zona de 
700 km que separa dos conocidas subáreas de distribución, lo que sugiere que la especie tiene una distribución continua a través de Centroamérica y el norte de Suramérica.
Palabras clave: Monumento Natural de Barro Colorado, foto-trampeo, extensión de distribución conocida, Mephitidae
63 Small Carnivore Conservation, Vol. 47, December 2012
Striped Hog-nosed Skunk in central Panama
35 km west of the Peña Blanca peninsula (Fig. 1). Araúz’s sightings, albeit unvouchered, indicated that the distribution of C. semistriatus in Panama is larger than previously thought, stretching from the Costa Rican border until the western lim-its of the Panama Canal. Our photographs represent the eastern most record of C. semistriatus in Central America and confirm 
the species’s range as proposed by Araúz (2005), extending ap-
proximately 300 km east from Cerro Punta, Chiriquí. Moreover, 
the Peña Blanca peninsula is in the centre of the 700 km-wide gap that separates the known Colombian and Central American 
sub-ranges of C. semistriatus, which suggests that these two 
sub-ranges may in fact be connected. 
AcknowledgementsWe are grateful to the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute for lo-
gistical support. This study was financially supported by the National 
Science Foundation (DEB 0717071 to RK) and the Netherlands Foun-
dation of Scientific Research (NWO-ALW 863-07-008 to PJ).
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Hog-nosed Skunk Conepatus semistriatus with Peña Blanca peninsula 
(site of the new record) indicated by a crosshair (map modified from 
Cuarón et al. 2008). Lower map: historical and new records for Panama. 
Black circles represent museum records (NMNH 2011) while dark grey 
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peninsula, in the centre of the Panama Canal, is indicated by a light grey 
circle with a dark centre.
Fig. 2. A male Striped Hog-nosed Skunk Conepatus semistriatus captured 
by two different camera-traps in the Peña Blanca peninsula of the Barro 
Colorado Nature Monument, central Panama, March 2010.
64Small Carnivore Conservation, Vol. 47, December 2012
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1Department of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen 
University, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen,  
the Netherlands.
2Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, PO Box 0843-
03092, Balboa, Ancon, Panama, Republic of Panama.
3Nature Research Center, North Carolina Museum of 
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NC, 27601 U.S.A.
*Email: email: helen.esser@wur.nl
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A record of Striped Hog-nosed Skunk Conepatus semistriatus in central Panama, between two known sub-ranges

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