Phascogale, fox and an old Lightwood tree

This large and very old Lightwood (Acacia implexa) 0n “Three Sisters” at Flowerdale disproves the often-heard saying that “wattles are all short-lived and not worth planting”. The landholders have now protected this beautiful tree from livestock and planted out a significant area around it as a revegetation project.

The area has obvious value as wildlife habitat. The property’s owners were driving past the other night and were thrilled to spot a Brush-tailed Phascogale (Phascogale tapoatafa) scurrying around in a planted Sugar Gum along their driveway, close to the Lightwood and some old Long-leaf Box trees. We set up a camera trained on a fallen log in the area, and sure enough recorded a short video of the phascogale.

However, as is the case with so many of our Focus on Fauna camera deployments, we also recorded a fox. We can only hope that the phascogale is too quick and nimble for the fox!