When I was in Bali recently I found a spot that I think is likely to be reliable for Sunda porcupine (Hystrix javanica). My guide saw one while we were looking for snakes in February. I went back by myself to try again a couple nights later but I didn’t see or hear any sign of them. The next time I was in Bali, in March, I went back with some chopped up sweet potato. I got the idea because porcupines adorably eating sweet potato (and pumpkin, which I couldn’t find at the grocery store) is its own subgenre of Internet video. At sunset I placed the pumpkin on the cement path where my guide had first seen the porcupine, and at 9:30 pm two showed up and munched on the sweet potato just as adorably as in the videos! I reckon anyone who wants to see a wild Sunda porcupine would be successful if they did the same thing.
The location is right next to a temple and apparently is off-limits to hunting for religious reasons, which is why the porcupines can persist there, in the middle of urban Denpasar. The location is -8.638817,115.2419923. I recommend getting a cab to the nearby Mie & Kopi Pacar, a cafe right beside the access steps down into the ravine (-8.638336,115.2411553). From the access point, follow the cement path as it leads you across a creek and then curves to the left. Look for a small shrine on your left. Once you find it, turn left, going past the shrine, until you reach some small steps that lead directly to a T junction. Directly in front of you should be the brick wall of the temple. I left the sweet potato at the bottom of the steps, and I sat and waited with my thermal camera at the shrine. If you get something to eat at Mie & Kopi Pacar, be sure to let them know that the porcupine guy sent you.
