Wildlife Around Burnie

Many native animals may be seen in the parks and reserves around Burnie and even in

Backyards!

Platypus

   Platypus may be seen at any time of day in the placid waters of the Emu River in Fern Glade Reserve. Occasionally one may find it's way to Romaine Dam. Look for the big bubbles rising and then watch as the animal surfaces and floats

for a moment or two before diving again with a characteristic ripple.

Bandicoots

Brown Bandicoots are reasonably common in the Burnie area, but Eastern Barred Bandicoots are apparently declining. Bandicoots may be seen at dusk and later, in many reserves including Burnie Park, Romaine Park, Round Hill Lookout and Wilf Campbell Hill.

Possums

Brush and Ring-tailed possums may be seen after dusk in any area with plenty of trees. They may raid garden fruit trees.

Common Ringtail Possum

Like all ringtail possums, the common ringtail possum has a strongly prehensile tail which acts as a fifth limb,

and which is carried tightly coiled when not being used. It can be distinguished from the brush-tail by the light covering of fur on its tail, as well as the white tail tip.

Tasmanian Devil Sarcophilus harrisii.

The Tasmanian devil, a feisty marsupial that lives only in the Australian island state of Tasmania, was deemed an endangered species this week by the state's government.

The government had previously classified the creature as vulnerable. But its more critical status comes in response to a fatal epidemic of devil facial tumor disease, which has wiped out large numbers of the animal.

"The change in the devil's status reflects the real

possibility that this iconic species could face extinction in the wild within 20 years," Tasmania's Primary Industries Minister Daid Llewellyn said in a statement.

(Read: "Tasmanian Devils Decimated by Mystery Cancer" [March 29, 2005].

Eastern Quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus)

are about the size of a small domestic cat averaging 60 cm in length and 1.3 kg in weight; females are slightly smaller. They have soft fur that is coloured fawn, brown or black. Small white spots cover the body except for the bushy tail which may have a white tip. Compared to the related spotted-tail quoll, the eastern quoll is slightly built with a pointed muzzle.

Distribution and habitat

Eastern quolls once occured on mainland Australia, with the last sighting occuring in the Sydney suburb of Vaucluse

in the early 1960s. They are now considered extinct on the mainland, although some recent sightings in the New England region of northern New South Wales suggest that the species may still survive.

The species, fortunately, is widespread and locally common in Tasmania. It is found in a variety of habitats including rainforest, heathland, alpine areas and scrub. However, it seems to prefer dry grassland and forest mosaics which are bounded by agricultural land, particularly where pasture grubs are common. Read more about the Quall, Pademelon (Rufous Wallaby), and the Long-Nosed Potoroo are very

Common

Read more about the Quall, Pademelon (Rufous Wallaby), and the Long-Nosed Potoroo are very common, and Tasmanian Devils are found much more frequently than in past years. Native Plants & Animals