Phil Lewis is one of the lucky members of the WWF family who has his own patch of bush. Lately he discovered that it has become home to some very rare fauna indeed but also some nasty predators including one that lives on his son’s couch.
This fat-tailed dunnart was released into the wild after it was caught by a cat.
I am very fortunate to live in an old town site called Korrelocking in the Wheatbelt of Western Australia. Because I live here, it is sometimes easy to take this beautiful 360 hectare remnant bushland for granted and forget that some of my day-to-day experiences are, to others, remarkable events.
Right now a couple of migratory birds are moving into our area. They are here to nest before returning to the north of our state. Some even fly as far north as Indonesia. But I will leave them to another day because something else recently happened that even I found exciting.
Recently I was fortunate to capture on film the very cute Little Long Tailed Dunnart (Sminthopsis dolichura). You can see it now on the WWF web site here.
We were all captivated by this little fellow and it is a sign that the remnant in which this footage was captured is in great condition and is large enough to provide a secure home for such little creatures.
During this camera trapping exercise we captured footage of foxes and at other times cats in the very same area. These two predators are the main threat to our unique fauna.
This was made even more obvious this week when my son rang up to get a little mouse-like creature identified that had been brought in by his house mate’s cat. It is further proof that not only feral cats are a big threat to fauna. The pet that supposedly sleeps on your bed all day is just as big a danger to native animals.
I’m not against people keeping cats but we do need to make sure they are sterilised and kept in their back yard.
The great news is that the little critter is, I think, a young Fat Tailed Dunnart (Sminthopsis crassicaudata) and it is alive and well. It has been released back into the bush and, yes, he looked frightened, but wouldn’t you?
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We recently moved to 28 acres with 18 acres remnant bushland. Before we moved in we made two cat runs that can be accessed from the house. The cats get to go outside and the wildlife has safety. Plus the cats are protected from foxes.
We recently found the remains of a yellow footed antechinus, my sister tells me if it was a male he expired after too much fun… I am thrilled to know these guys are here along with the goannas, shingelbacks and blue tongues we’ve spotted. I’m told there are wallabies here but I am yet to see them, and there are grey crowned babblers here too.
I love both my cats and the wildlife and the runs are a win for all. Talk to your son about building one, if I can do it anyone can !