The Woylie or Bush-Tailed Bettong
This planet is full of animals. Many of them we are familiar with and
start learning at a young age. That's an elephant and this is a zebra.
No, that's not a dog, but a wolf. However, there are a great number of
animals that most of us have never even heard of. They fill the
strangest corners of the world and are often fascinating creatures. One
of them is the Woylie or Bush-Tailed Bettong. This is a small
marsupial, that like many marsupials, lives in the land "down under".
Australia is home to most of the world's marsupials, and they are a
fascinating group, the woylie is no different.
What is a Woylie?
A
woylie or bush-tailed bettong is a small marsupial. It looks much like
a rodent (maybe a mole or rat) with a tail that curls. With hind legs
that are longer then its front ones it can often be seen hopping in a
fashion similar to kangaroos (a distant relative of the woylie). This
creature is one that often blends in with its natural surroundings. Its
fur is a combination of tans, browns, and grays with a black section in
its slightly bushy tail. It has a very rodent look with a pointy face,
big eyes, and cute little ears, but instead it belongs in the marsupial
family. 
Marsupials are animals that give birth to their babies
when they are in a very young stage of development. Often these babies
look like fetuses rather then babies. They then work their way up the
mother's stomach and into a pouch. There they latch on to a nipple and
spend time growing. Usually after several weeks (or months depending on
the species) the baby will emerge because it is ready to live outside
in the world. For the woylie its young are born 21 days after the male
and female mate. It then spends an additional 13 weeks developing in
its mother's pouch.
Habitat and Behavior.
The
woylie's territory used to cover most of southern Australia. It could
be seen in most fields and had a huge range. However, decreasing
population sizes have dramatically reduced the numbers of the woylie.
They are now only seen in small areas mostly in southwestern Australia.
These animals are solitary and are only seen together when the
mothers are still raising their young. They nest around and under logs,
rocks, and bushes. To make their nest they dig shallow holes and then
use their tails to collect grass, twigs, and leaves to line it with.
Useful Little Helpers.
While
many don't realize it, the woylie in the area are important to the
environment and the current ecosystem. Digging their homes moves a lot
of soil. As they search for food sources such as roots, fungi, insects,
and seeds they move even more soil around. All this digging moves leaf
matter downward into the soil, allows more water to get in, and
disperses seeds and fungi spores. The forests often thrive with the
help of these little critters.
Conservation Issues.
These
creatures used to abide all over southern Australia. A number of issues
have caused their numbers to die down. First, as with so many animals,
the settling and developing of the land reduced much of their natural
habitat and dramatically reduced their numbers. Second, Europeans
brought with them foxes (among other animals). This new predator in the
ecosystem helped to cause rapid decreases in their population. In fact,
their numbers got dangerously low to about 2,000 animals. Because the
population of the woylie became so small conservation efforts began.
Populations were reintroduced to areas that they used to live. An
effort was made to poison much of the fox population so that its
numbers were drastically reduced. The poisons chosen were ones that
couldn't effect the woylie because they were made from fungi that the
woylie naturally consumes. With these two major conservation efforts
the population of the woylies grew and was looking really good. In 1996
they were removed from the threatened species list because it was
believed that they were doing really well.
Down Turn.
In
2001 the woylie population was estimated at, at least 40,000 and things
were looking so well it was believed that conservation efforts had
worked well and their numbers would continue to thrive. Since that time
as much as 70-90% of the population has died off. Researchers aren't
completely sure why this is happening, but they have a few theories.
Feral Cats.
With
the number of foxes reduced dramatically a new predator has become a
problem. The fox population used to control the feral cat (wild cat)
population. Now with the foxes gone these cats have become a major
threat to the woylies and have been hunting them.
Disease.
In
addition to the woylies having to deal with feral cats as a major
predator now it is also believed that a disease has entered the
population. Many scientists are looking for the reason behind this
disease, it is believed that the major issue here is the fact that the
lowered numbers in the population have dramatically limited the gene
pool. When the population becomes limited it is more likely that
diseases that only effected a few become more prevalent in the
population over time and without new genetic material (from sources
outside the tight knit population) the disease can take over so that it
effects the majority of the population. Because there are no woylies
that are outside the tight knit population it could mean very dangerous
things for the future of the woylies. This is all just speculation at
this point and research is being done to test these theories.
Scientists
continue to research the issues facing the woylie population with the
hopes of coming up with some sort of solution. However, with disease
effecting more and more woylies there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of
hope. They are trying to encourage population growth and the expansion
of the habitat as well as trying to come up with a solution and cure
for the disease that seems intent on destroying this animal. Time will
only tell.
However, at the rate that the woylies are dying off
it won't be long before the only woylies left in the world are those in
captivity. This could mean bad things for the forests they call home
and a world with less and less species diversification. While many
people around the world have never heard of this furry little friend,
and few would bat an eye if it were gone forever, it should mean
something to everyone!
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Comments
Why not come and stay with us and see the Woylie up close at your private spa chalet here at Yelverton Brook Eco Spa Retreat & Conservation Sanctuary.
We have been breeding them for 4+ yrs now and all self funded via our tourism accommodation.
We have learnt allot about Woylies over the years, feisty like a jack Russell, boy can they dig over 5 tonnes in a year, fav food is Truffles, can hiss allot at each other over food and kick really well!
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