Published: Sun 02 December 2018
By Michael
in 2018 with
tags: native-wildlife feral-animals pets
Sometimes the wildlife camera at Ekibin Creek Bushcare tells a story, or at least suggests one. In this case, a sequence of images taken over four days reveals wildlife activity otherwise unobserved at night. The story below tries to "fill in" the gaps between these images.
The story begins with a fox on the evening of 9 November. There has long been a fox problem at Ekibin Creek. Despite the removal of three foxes in October, 2018, some obviously remain. Further, fox sightings (on camera) are almost always associated with koala sightings. This may be because foxes are actively hunting koalas by following scent around trees that are regularly climbed. In this case, the koala is probably big enough to defend itself against a fox, but may have trouble if it encountered a large dog.
Early the next morning (10th), a koala climbs up the same tree to sleep for the day. From measurements using the tree trunk as a guide it is about half a metre in length. This is probably a juvenile koala, but probably too big to be the joey that we observed with its mother last year. There are plenty of scratch marks on the trunk, so it seems to be regularly used. This is why the wildlife camera was positioned here in the first place.
Our story continues later on the same morning, just after daybreak. A dog appears, possibly following a scent, either the fox or koala. The camera often captures images of dogs (and their owners) going for a walk through the forest. The owner has probably let the dog off its leash so that it can explore, or hunt. Fortunately, our koala is safely ensconced metres above the forest floor.
Early the next evening, when there are no foxes, dogs (or their owners) about, the koala climbs down. Perhaps it is on the way to another food tree or a different place to spend the night. This might be a strategy to keep potential predators guessing by constantly moving around.
Our story ends with rats! Lots of rats. They appear to be celebrating something. These are probably not native bush rats, since they appear to have quite long tails.
And to finish the story, the koala returned two weeks later, to the same tree. This time things were a bit more peaceful, without foxes, dogs or rats.
