Mysterious creature with big eyes and bushy tail found in Australia. See rare species
As manager at Scotia Wildlife Sanctuary in Australia, Daniel Burton is routinely on patrol within the nearly 20,000 acre property.
In May 2022, Burton was on patrol when a mysterious mouse-like creature passed by his car, according to a July 19 news release from the Australian Wildlife Conservancy.
Burton said his interest was especially piqued by the creature because in his two years at the sanctuary, he had never spotted a mouse.
“It sprinted right in front of me, and I hopped out of the car for a closer look,” Burton said in the release. “The mouse was twice the size of a house mouse with larger ears, wider eyes, and a longer, black and bushy tail – and it wasn’t running, it was hopping.”
After his run-in with the animal, Burton got to work trying to learn more about what he had seen. With the help of the sanctuary’s mammal guide, he narrowed his search to four possible species, the conservatory said.
Burton then set up camera traps while other members of the sanctuary’s team trapped one of the creatures for genetic testing.
“We were able to use the information gathered from the camera trap images to opportunistically set up Elliott Traps and eventually capture one individual, a male which was nicknamed Patches,” Trevor Bauer, a field ecologist at the conservatory, said in the release. “We took measurements of his head, tail, body, ears, feet and pads. He had a prominent throat pouch with fur pointing towards the centre. We had a good idea of the species, but took fur clippings and tissue samples for genetic testing to be certain.”
In May, the samples came back, indicating that the creature was a dusky hopping mouse — a new species for the sanctuary and a rare creature, the conservancy said.
Experts said the species was presumed extinct in New South Whales until a population was found in Sturt National Park in 2003. Since that discovery, the species has rarely been seen, and never south of Broken Hill — about 60 miles north of the Scotia Wildlife Sanctuary.
“The Dusky Hopping Mouse’s range has contracted significantly since European colonisation and the introduction of predators such as cats and foxes,” Rachel Ladd, a wildlife ecologist with the conservatory, said in the release. “We are hoping that the reduced threat of predators inside the fenced area will be key to the species persisting at Scotia during drier years.”
Scotia Wildlife Sanctuary is about 450 miles northwest of Melbourne.
This story was originally published August 2, 2023 at 9:11 AM with the headline "Mysterious creature with big eyes and bushy tail found in Australia. See rare species."
