About Me

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Canberra-based naturalist, conservationist, educator since 1980. I’m passionate about the natural world (especially the southern hemisphere), and trying to understand it and to share such understandings. To that aim I’ve written several books (most recently 'Birds in Their Habitats' and 'Australian Bird Names; origins and meanings'), and run tours all over Australia, and for 17 years to South and Central America. I've done a lot of ABC radio work, chaired a government environmental advisory committee and taught many adult education classes – and of course presented this blog, since 2012. I am a recipient of the Australian Natural History Medallion, the Australian Plants Award and most recently a Medal of the Order of Australia for ‘services to conservation and the environment’. I live happily in suburban Duffy with my partner Louise surrounded by a dense native garden and lots of birds.

Saturday, 27 October 2012

Bobuck

The Common Brushtail Possum Trichosurus vulpeculus is a familiar urban mammal in south-eastern Australia; in fact, given that it's had only 200 years to adapt to urban living, it's done so so successfully that I'd suggest it could be regarded as the most urban-adapted larger mammal in the world. 
Common Brushtail Possum, suburban Canberra.

However in the wetter mountain forests a closely related species, the Mountain Brushtail or Bobuck T. caninus, is much less familiar to most people. Just 10 years ago this species was split, the southern population retaining the Mountain Brushtail Possum common name, but given the new species name T. cunninghami. The northern animals became Short-eared Brushtail Possum.

This photo was taken a couple of Christmases ago in the Chichester State Forest, in mid-northern New South Wales west of Newcastle. It was as determined a camp scavenger as any Common Brushie I've met.

Short-eared Brushtail Possum, Chichester State Forest.
Back Monday!
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