While most rodents will make a hasty retreat from human visitors, one not so easily intimidated is the White-tailed Rat (Uromys caudimaculatus). This large rat has a body length of 30cm (1 foot) and the end half of its 33cm (13 inch) tail is white and without fur (which is the easiest way to identify them). The White-tailed Rat can be seen on the forest floor at night but it is just as likely to be seen climbing around tree branches. Although most rodents are known for their powerful teeth, this one can eat through the hardest of seed coats. The next time you find a coconut on the ground with a perfectly round hole about 2 cm (3/4 inch) in diameter drilled through it, you will know that a White-tailed Rat found it first!
Another ground-dweller is quite the predator. An attractive but elusive night-time hunter of both the forest floor and the canopy is the Spotted-tailed Quoll, also known as the Tiger Quoll. There are two species of quoll in the Wet Tropics: the northern subspecies of the Spotted-tailed Quoll (Dasyurus maculatus gracilis) and the smaller Northern Quoll (D. hallucatus). They are well known for their aggressive dispositions, described in books as "pugnacious", "ferocious" and "savage". The Quoll is a carnivore, preferring rodents, small macropods, birds and reptiles, although large insects, some fruit and even carrion is included in their diet. The Quolls are not quite standard marsupials in that they don't have a real pouch. During breeding season, the skin around the female's nipple area extends into a flap which partially covers the young. Females have 6 teats but the number of young born can range from one to eight. Young remain in the pseudo-pouch for several weeks before being left in a nest hollow or cave and attended to by the female. Independence is usually reached by 18 weeks and sexual maturity is at one year.
There are many other mammals to look for in the Wet Tropics such as Melomys (native rats), Hydromys (the water rat whose fine swimming abilities evoke images of the river otter), Northern Brown Bandicoots (often seen darting across roads at night), their paler rainforest cousins the Long-nosed Bandicoot, Agile Wallabies (look for them hanging around the golf courses of the Northern Beaches area of Cairns), and the adorable Red-legged Pademelon.
Another ground-dweller is quite the predator. An attractive but elusive night-time hunter of both the forest floor and the canopy is the Spotted-tailed Quoll, also known as the Tiger Quoll. There are two species of quoll in the Wet Tropics: the northern subspecies of the Spotted-tailed Quoll (Dasyurus maculatus gracilis) and the smaller Northern Quoll (D. hallucatus). They are well known for their aggressive dispositions, described in books as "pugnacious", "ferocious" and "savage". The Quoll is a carnivore, preferring rodents, small macropods, birds and reptiles, although large insects, some fruit and even carrion is included in their diet. The Quolls are not quite standard marsupials in that they don't have a real pouch. During breeding season, the skin around the female's nipple area extends into a flap which partially covers the young. Females have 6 teats but the number of young born can range from one to eight. Young remain in the pseudo-pouch for several weeks before being left in a nest hollow or cave and attended to by the female. Independence is usually reached by 18 weeks and sexual maturity is at one year.
There are many other mammals to look for in the Wet Tropics such as Melomys (native rats), Hydromys (the water rat whose fine swimming abilities evoke images of the river otter), Northern Brown Bandicoots (often seen darting across roads at night), their paler rainforest cousins the Long-nosed Bandicoot, Agile Wallabies (look for them hanging around the golf courses of the Northern Beaches area of Cairns), and the adorable Red-legged Pademelon.
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