And the bush has friends to meet him, and their kindly voices greet him, In the murmur of the breezes and the river on its bars,
And he sees the vision splendid of the sunlit plains extended, And at night the wonderous glory of the everlasting stars.

Banjo Paterson (1889)

Monday, July 19, 2010

Little Mammals

The checking of traps first thing in the morning is always exciting as you never know what you're going to get. In the Pilbara it's often reptiles, but sometimes you get little mammals that normally people wouldn't see.



A bucket trap has two Long-tailed Planigales (Planigale ingrami).




Small (<120mm) carnivorous marsupials, hunters of anything they can overpower and eat.




Looks a bit like a tiny ferret in this shot.




Nice little animals, that often have a habit of shutting their eyes and just staying quiet while you handle them.

3 comments:

Wai Yien said...

they look like a rat to me,a zoologist should know best.

Visiting Borneo soon ?

Richard King said...

A lot of small mammals do look rat-like.
I'm thinking Christmas in Asia again, maybe Borneo?

Heather said...

My but they are cute! I take it they had no interest in biting you?