The Poor Potoroo

Until the other day I had never heard of the Potoroo (nor of its companion in the wild, the Quokka) but now I may be an expert. Gilbert’s Potoroo, a marsupial, happens to be Australia’s most endangered mammal. Only about 30 to 40 are left in the wild near Mount Gardner in Western Australia. A few years ago seven of them were moved to Bald Island, off the coast of Western Australia, which is in pristine condition and has no Potoroo predators.
Some interesting facts about the Potoroo:

The adult 2 lb. Potoroo has 1/2 inch long offspring which sometimes stay in a state of suspended development (embryonic diapause) while another Potoroo is conceived.

Potoroos are the most fungi-dependent mammal on earth. They eat truffles.

Always optimistic, Australians are on the lookout. If you think you may have seen a Gilbert's Potoroo, or found animal remains which you think could be a Gilbert's Potoroo, please check the sightings page which gives guidance on distinguishing Potoroos from similar animals and complete the online sighting report; alternatively, you can note down the sighting details as listed on the page and email a message to: sightings@potoroo.org

Electric Ant

I was reminded of all the warning signs in Australia, wondering what an electric ant was. Was it an ant that lived behind electric switchplates?



From Wikipedia:

The electric ant, also known as the little fire ant, Wasmannia auropunctata, is a tiny (appprox 1.5 mm long), light to golden brown (ginger) social ant native to Central and South America, now spread to parts of Africa (including Gabon and Cameroon), North America, Israel, and six Pacific Island groups (including the Galápagos Islands, Hawaii, New Caledonia and the Solomon Islands) plus north-eastern Australia.
The name, electric ant (or little fire ant) derives from the ant's painful sting. This ant's impact in those environments and countries outside of its place of origin has been described as follows:
Wasmannia auropunctata .. is blamed for reducing species diversity, reducing overall abundance of flying and tree-dwelling insects, and eliminating arachnid populations. It is also known for its painful stings. On the Galapagos, it eats the hatchlings of tortoises and attacks the eyes and cloacae of the adult tortoises. It is considered to be perhaps the greatest ant species threat in the Pacific region.

I Love Wombats

We saw lots of wombats at the zoo near Adelaide, Australia where I took this picture.

WOMBAT FACTS
Herbivorous marsupial or pouched mammal
About 1 metre (40 in) in length
Tends to graze at night
Produces cube-shaped dung
Closest relative is koala

From the BBC News:


Wombat bites Australian bush fire survivor

Wombats are normally not aggressive creatures. Bruce Kringle, 60, was pulled to the ground by the animal and bitten on the legs and arms after apparently stepping on it by mistake.
He escaped after killing the wombat with an axe.
Animal experts said it appeared the wombat had been suffering from mange, which had made it irritable.
Paramedic Robert Gill said it appeared Mr Kringle had trodden on the animal when he left his caravan in Flowerdale, north-east of Melbourne.
He was living in the caravan while he rebuilt his home after the "Black Saturday" fires.
"The wombat proceeded to get rather nasty and attacked him and inflicted some wounds to his lower legs and also to his arms as well," ABC News quoted Mr Gill as saying.
"It took about 20 minutes. He did try to exit the area and get away from the wombat but my belief is that it kept coming at him."
Kelly Smith, a friend of Mr Kringle, said that once he was on the ground, the wombat had climbed on his chest.

"Bruce managed to find an axe and killed it," Ms Smith told the AAP news agency. "It's bizarre what happened."
There were reports that local people had complained about a rogue wombat in the area in recent days.
Wombats, furry marsupials unique to Australia, are one of the country's most endearing native creatures.
They can grow up to 1m (40 inches) in length and weigh up to 35kg.
Geoff McClure of the Department of Sustainability and Environment said wombat attacks were extremely rare, but that the animal in question could have been made aggressive by mange, caused by mites on the skin.
"In the advanced stages wombats become very irritable and anyone who approaches them, they usually view as a threat and may run towards them," he said.
He told AAP Mr Kringle's action in killing the wombat was probably merciful, as it would have been suffering.