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Animal diggings ID please

PostPosted: Sun 02 May, 2021 6:04 pm
by Eremophila
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.

Re: Animal diggings ID please

PostPosted: Sun 02 May, 2021 6:13 pm
by crollsurf
Loved to tell the difference between Pig and Wombat diggings as well

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Re: Animal diggings ID please

PostPosted: Sun 02 May, 2021 7:35 pm
by GBW
Looks like rabbits.

Re: Animal diggings ID please

PostPosted: Sun 02 May, 2021 7:56 pm
by Eremophila
No other signs of rabbits in the area, never seen any.
All of the diggings are on a fairly steep bank.

Re: Animal diggings ID please

PostPosted: Mon 17 May, 2021 12:57 pm
by Franco
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 .

Re: Animal diggings ID please

PostPosted: Wed 19 May, 2021 9:51 am
by neilmny
Maybe echidna, was there any ants around. They are very powerful excavators.

Re: Animal diggings ID please

PostPosted: Wed 19 May, 2021 10:25 am
by FatCanyoner
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

Re: Animal diggings ID please

PostPosted: Thu 20 May, 2021 8:42 am
by Eremophila
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.

Re: Animal diggings ID please

PostPosted: Thu 20 May, 2021 12:13 pm
by FatCanyoner
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!

Re: Animal diggings ID please

PostPosted: Sat 22 May, 2021 7:57 am
by jindydiver
Could be a number of animals who want to dig up some truffles....
https://www.anbg.gov.au/fungi/ecology-vertebrates.html