Animal diggings ID please

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Animal diggings ID please

Postby Eremophila » Sun 02 May, 2021 6:04 pm

My friend & I visit Mt Rouse regularly (near Penshurst, SW Vic) but hadn't seen these burrowings until recently - we noticed them last week, then again today when they were definitely fresh.
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Re: Animal diggings ID please

Postby crollsurf » Sun 02 May, 2021 6:13 pm

Loved to tell the difference between Pig and Wombat diggings as well

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Re: Animal diggings ID please

Postby GBW » Sun 02 May, 2021 7:35 pm

Looks like rabbits.
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Re: Animal diggings ID please

Postby Eremophila » Sun 02 May, 2021 7:56 pm

No other signs of rabbits in the area, never seen any.
All of the diggings are on a fairly steep bank.
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Re: Animal diggings ID please

Postby Franco » Mon 17 May, 2021 12:57 pm

Hard to tell but could be wombat. They often don't poop close to the burrow, look to see if there is an obvious path forming , leading to those holes .
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Re: Animal diggings ID please

Postby neilmny » Wed 19 May, 2021 9:51 am

Maybe echidna, was there any ants around. They are very powerful excavators.
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Re: Animal diggings ID please

Postby FatCanyoner » Wed 19 May, 2021 10:25 am

My guess would be that it's from a bandicoot. Mt Rouse falls within the range of the Eastern Barred Bandicoot.

Your pictures suggest lots of small holes dug looking for food, rather than burrows (so not rabbits). The holes are too small for wombats or pigs.

There's an interesting article about the huge amounts of soil these little marsupials dig: https://theconversation.com/one-little- ... -it-132266
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Re: Animal diggings ID please

Postby Eremophila » Thu 20 May, 2021 8:42 am

My first thought was echidnas but the burrowings are more or less horizontal, into the face of the bank. And no tell-tale beak indentations.

There’s a bitumen road at the base of the bank, so no path/tracks made by the animals.

Hadn’t thought of bandicoots. I buy my eggs from a farmer nearby, will ask her if they frequent the area.
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Re: Animal diggings ID please

Postby FatCanyoner » Thu 20 May, 2021 12:13 pm

Yeah, they don't look like echidna diggings to me either, but I'm no expert.

If you're really keen, maybe try and find someone with one of those wildlife cameras and set it up in the area. You may catch something quite interesting in the act!
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Re: Animal diggings ID please

Postby jindydiver » Sat 22 May, 2021 7:57 am

Could be a number of animals who want to dig up some truffles....
https://www.anbg.gov.au/fungi/ecology-vertebrates.html
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