Wallabia bicolor

1 Swamp Wallaby at Deakin, ACT

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Identification history

Wallabia bicolor	6 Sep 2020	DonFletcher
Wallabia bicolor	6 Sep 2020	DonFletcher
Unidentified	5 Sep 2020	LisaH

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User's notes

I am assuming this is the tail of a possum? I am intrigued by the clean shearing off of the end of the tail from the rest of the body, and wondered if it might have been a meal for an owl or bird of prey?

3 comments

DonFletcher wrote:

6 Sep 2020

Hi LisaH, I cant tell the size very well but it looks to me like the tail of a Black (Swamp) Wallaby Wallabia bicolor. Some of the possums have bare skin on the underside (for grip) and all have soft thin fluffy fur. This looks too coarse on one side to be any of those. DNA from saliva could identify the predator but my first guess would be fox. Why they bite off tail tips I do not know.

LisaH wrote:

6 Sep 2020

Thank you! That is fascinating - and makes so much sense, as the hair is so coarse. I would never have imagined the tail tip belonged to a wallaby - or that it could be taken down by a fox. Really appreciate the ID and the background.

DonFletcher wrote:

6 Sep 2020

I have seen a large male kangaroo dying of starvation but still able to struggle to its feet, lose the tip of its tail while sleeping under a tree. So Black Wallaby - no problem. But why? Maybe it enables the fox to safely assess the potential danger of attacking that animal, though foxes are only known to kill the sub-adults and juveniles of these species.

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Location information

Sighting information

1 Abundance
31 Aug 2020 12:06 PM Recorded on
LisaH Recorded by
Collections
Mammals Kangaroos & Wallabies

Species information

Wallabia bicolor Scientific name
Swamp Wallaby Common name
Not Sensitive
Local native
Non-invasive or negligible
Up to 1338.8m Recorded at altitude
428 images trained Machine learning
External link More information