What scat is this ?

[Franco]

Three possible candidates
1) wallaby (swamp wallaby if...)
2) echidna
3) fox

all 3 pass by , it does not look like fox to me but I don't really know.

[GBW]

Possum?

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/ ... 044094.htm

[GPSGuided]

Koala?

[highercountry]

You need a copy of Barbara Triggs', Tracks Scats and Other Traces.
It's a really good, interesting book.
https://www.australianarchaeologicalassociation.com.au/journal/review-of-tracks-scats-and-other-traces-a-field-guide-to-australian-mammals-by-barbara-triggs/

[Franco]

Possum
we have ring tail possums here , I would think that it is too large for one of them (not that I know...)
Koala ?
I had a look and yes it does look like it , I haven't seen a koala here but there has been an individual or two in the past.
I'll be thrilled if it was
It was close to several echidna scratchings but haven't been able to see one either, I just find the holes.

[north-north-west]

Fox scat is pretty distinctive: longer, skinnier with a bit of a 'tail'. Too big for ringtail. Have no idea what echidna scat looks like . . .

[GPSGuided]

As taught at a recent koala lecture, one needs to look up for koala, and typically difficult to spot.


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[MickyB]

I'm not a scat expert but IMO it looks like it's from a herbivore so I doubt it's from an echidna.

[Tortoise]

Looks like koala is in there with a shot:

Screen Shot 2016-05-17 at 7.45.08 PM.png (145.71 KiB) Viewed 29973 times

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2007/09/26/2044094.htm

[Franco]

I collected more ..

[Tortoise]

Are they very hard on the outside and hairless?

[Franco]

Yes, hard and hairless.

[Tortoise]

Looks like you might have yourself some koalas, Franco.

[GPSGuided]

Were they under or around a tree?


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[puredingo]

Do they taste like an Eucalyptus lolly?

[Franco]

The previous owners had a koala looking through their bedroom window one morning but I think that in 30 years they have seen one tree times.
I am usually pretty good at spotting them but I'll keep an eye out for it.
Everything here (almost) is under trees, we live in the bush.
(we have a few koala friendly gums but not many...lots of pines)

Thank you all , I' ll post something when I know.

[Franco]

Found more fresh poo this morning, same area but no matter how hard I look I can't see no koalas....

[MickyB]

Found more fresh poo this morning, same area but no matter how hard I look I can't see no koalas....

As gross as this sounds cut one in half. It might show what it has eaten and help to id the animal

[GPSGuided]

As taught, koalas are notoriously hard to spot when they are up there. Of course, it may be something else. Set up a night vision camera.

[cajun]

Do they taste like an Eucalyptus lolly?

Truly the defining characteristic. Over to you Franco lol

[Pteropus]

Hi Franco,

I think what you have there is the droppings of a medium sized macropod like a wallaby or perhaps a pademelon. Looks grassy and is irregular in shape. I thought maybe bandicoot too, but it looks too grassy. But maybe look around for scratchings in the ground which might be evidence of bandicoots. Breaking some dry droppings open and see how digested the material is, and see if they look more like digested grass, leaves, fur, or generally indescribable mush.

It’s not a koala however, as koala droppings have a generally regular cylindrical shape, and if you broke them open, they have very fine evenly crushed leaf parts, and yes, they do smell eucalypty! Brushtail possum poo is similar to that of koalas but are more irregular and variable in shape and often have fur sticking out the end, and material is not as neatly/evenly digested as a koalas. See brushtail versus koala below.

Brushtail possum poo

068 brushtail poo.JPG (406.02 KiB) Viewed 29756 times

koala poo

317 koala poo under ironbark.JPG (624.52 KiB) Viewed 29756 times

More koala poo

111koala droppings.JPG (595.34 KiB) Viewed 29756 times

I thought I had a photo of echidna poo, but I couldn’t find it, but basically it is about as long and a similar diameter as your thumb, is brown and hard when dry, like dry mud, and when you break it open there are little “glassy” looking bits of ant exoskeletons. See here for a pic-> http://www.arkive.org/short-beaked-echi ... 30851.html

Check for wallabies feeding at night would be my bet though.

Cheers
Andrew

[Franco]

Someone at the Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research ( I know people that know people...) commented that the one on the left is most likely from a fox, the other two from a wallaby.
I am happy about that because it means my Wally (visiting wallaby) is still alive, one of his relatives was spotted on the side of the road (dead...) a few hundred meters from here.

This is Wally


looking at my cat..

Thanks everyone for the input.


To return the favour, if anyone is really interested in the flora and fauna at Wilsons Prom, get
A field guide to Wilsons Promontory .
Thanks to Michele Kohout for that.