Ellura Sanctuary, Swan Reach, SA, 5354
                      
 
Stat'NotesThumbnails: 109.   19 native species listed, with 10 from Ellura
Animals (Animalia) - Chordates (Chordata) - Mammals (Mammalia)
Even-toed Ungulates
Artiodactyla
  (1 species
    1 from Ellura)
Cloven-hoofed Mammal
Bovidae
  (1 species
    1 from Ellura)
Feral Goat
Capra hircus


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Other Common NameGoat

Thank you Antoni Camozzato for confirming the id of this species for us
 
Footprint
🔍Herd, Trip or Tribe
Mother & Kid
Placental mammals
Carnivora
  (3 species
    2 from Ellura)
Canine
Canidae
  (1 species
    1 from Ellura)
Red Fox
Vulpes vulpes


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Other Common NameDAMN Fox

Thank you Geoffrey Cox for confirming the id of this species for us
 
🔍Approaching
🔍Who's that?
🔍Better get outta here
Placental mammals
Carnivora
  (3 species
    2 from Ellura)
Cat
Felidae
  (1 species
    1 from Ellura)
Feral Cat
Felis catus
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Profile
Placental mammals
Carnivora
  (3 species
    2 from Ellura)
Eared Seal
Otariidae
  (1 species
    0 from Ellura)
Long-nosed fur seal
Arctocephalus forsteri


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Thank you Antoni Camozzato for confirming the id of this species for us
 
🔍Face
Dolphins & Whales
Cetacea
  (1 species
    0 from Ellura)
Right Whale
Balaenidae
  (1 species
    0 from Ellura)
Southern Right Whale
Eubalaena australis


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Thank you Patrick White for confirming the id of this species for us
 
🔍Calf tail
🔍Calf frolicking on it's back
🔍Head of Adult
🔍Blow
Bats
Chiroptera
  (5 species
    5 from Ellura)
Free-tailed Bat
Molossidae
  (2 species
    2 from Ellura)
White-striped Freetail-bat
Austronomus australis
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SynonymsAustronomous australis or Tadarida australis

A big thanks to Aimee Linke, Project Manager at Mid Murray Landcare SA, for lending us the anabat and getting our recordings identified. We're not sure how we'll get photo's but hopefully we will manage it one day.
Photograph yet to be loaded.
Bats
Chiroptera
  (5 species
    5 from Ellura)
Free-tailed Bat
Molossidae
  (2 species
    2 from Ellura)
Southern Free-tailed Bat
Ozimops planiceps
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SynonymMormopterus planiceps

A big thanks to Aimee Linke, Project Manager at Mid Murray Landcare SA, for taking recordings and getting our bats identified. We're not sure how we'll get photo's but hopefully we will manage it one day.
Photograph yet to be loaded.
Bats
Chiroptera
  (5 species
    5 from Ellura)
Vesper Bat
Vespertilionidae
  (3 species
    3 from Ellura)
Gould's Wattled Bat
Chalinolobus gouldii


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Thank you Michael Pennay for confirming and Jakob Fahr for helping with the id of this species for us

Nose to tail, she was ~80mm long.
We were dismayed to find this poor bat trapped behind a plastic cupboard in our annex. Since then we have sealed everything up better and stopped this from ever happening again. Very dehydrated and suffering from the heat we put gloves on and managed to get it out without injury. There's a short video here showing Marie giving it a drink. We then put it on the roof of our car to cool down (in the shade) and a few minutes later it flew off looking refreshed.
You must never handle bats as they can carry a lethal (to humans) virus; Australian bat lyssavirus (ABLV).
Video:
A film of a Gould's Wattle Bat we saved (trapped in a shed) in 40+ deg temp's. (27Mb)
🔍Adult Female, dorsal, wings out
🔍Adult Female, dorsal
🔍Adult Female, profile
🔍Adult Female, Drinking
🔍Adult Female, anterior
🔍Adult Female, Face & Wing
🔍Adult Female, ventral
Bats
Chiroptera
  (5 species
    5 from Ellura)
Vesper Bat
Vespertilionidae
  (3 species
    3 from Ellura)
Chocolate Wattled Bat
Chalinolobus morio
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A big thanks to Aimee Linke, Project Manager at Mid Murray Landcare SA, for lending us the anabat and getting our recordings identified. We're not sure how we'll get photo's but hopefully we will manage it one day.
Photograph yet to be loaded.
Bats
Chiroptera
  (5 species
    5 from Ellura)
Vesper Bat
Vespertilionidae
  (3 species
    3 from Ellura)
Little Forest Bat
Vespadelus vulturnus
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A big thanks to Aimee Linke, Project Manager at Mid Murray Landcare SA, for taking recordings and getting our bats identified. We're not sure how we'll get photo's but hopefully we will manage it one day.
Photograph yet to be loaded.
Carnivorous marsupials
Dasyuromorphia
  (1 species
    0 from Ellura)
Carnivorous Marsupials
Dasyuridae
  (1 species
    0 from Ellura)
Slender-tailed Dunnart
Sminthopsis murina


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These were found on an expedition North of here, with a team of people helping with id's.
We ask that you do not try this without expert supervision. It'd be easy to injure the animal, or get bitten.
A small mouse like marsupial. Females have a pouch
The soles of the rear feet have diagnostic pads.
🔍Female, profile
🔍Female, pouch
🔍Female, Hind Feet Sole
🔍Female, Released
🔍Male, Holding onto a bag
🔍Male, Hind Feet Soles
🔍Male, Released
Kangaroos & Wombats
Diprotodontia
  (9 species
    4 from Ellura)
Kangaroo & Wallaby
Macropodidae
  (5 species
    3 from Ellura)
Black-faced Kangaroo
Macropus fuliginosus ssp melanops


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Other Common NameWestern Grey Kangaroo

Thank you Sea-Kangaroo, Michal Sloviak & Karen Weaving for confirming the id of this species for us

Difficult to distinguish from the Red Kangaroo, as they vary in colour greatly and can have rufous tones. Colour cannot be used for identification.
The key we find easiest to spot is that the Red has a more dog like muzzle. The Grey has a finer, narrower muzzle.
The Grey also has fluffier ears.
It's a joy to be able to walk within 20m of feeding roos on Ellura and not have them run in fear. They sit back on their legs and watch, then continue grazing.
The reason the Grey's have a finer muzzle than the Red's is because the Grey's prefer to eat bushes (saltbush, westringia rigida, etc), where as the Red's eat grass. New shoots are a delicacy for the Grey's. The finer muzzle allows them to more easily get into the hard prickly bushes to find their tit-bits. The Greys do eat grass as well, along with the weed "Thread Iris".
Male roo's are called "Jacks", and females "Jills".
All the mainland Western Grey's have been put into sub-species melanops. The sub-species name "melano" means black; ergo "Black-faced". Those on Kangaroo Island have retained the Western Grey Common name and are the type species, ssp fuliginosus.
One suspects since the western invasion some of the KI sub-species would have been brought to the mainland & escaped?
The shot of the pair here highlights the size difference between males & females. You can see the very strong shoulders & forearms of the male compared with the female. The species varies greatly in size with adult females sometimes being only slightly larger than some larger joeys.
We usually have a couple of resident females grazing Ellura. Occasionally we'll get others visit as they pass thru and then a male will hange around for a few weeks when a female is on heat. The residents (which change over time) are much more placid. Males & visiting females are very timid and bound away without a moments hesitation.
Video:
This Jill has been drinking for 45 min's and wants to get passed us for more (16Mb)
A funny clip of a Joey having a scratch, then looking at us indignantly while we laugh at her. (13Mb)
In our first summer, we put out buckets to relieve the roo's (36Mb)
The second video of roo's drinking from our buckets (37Mb)
Hamish
Joey in Pouch
Joey Close up
🔍Joey Head
Joey Profile
Joey Squatting
🔍Joey Eating
Joey with Mum
🔍Female Head
🔍Female Head
Female Profile
🔍Female Hopping
🔍Female Drinking
Rufous Female
🔍Powerful Male
🔍Male Hopping
🔍Male Watching
🔍Male Watching
🔍Male Watching
🔍Male Drinking
🔍Pair
Joey, Mum & Dad
Kangaroos & Wombats
Diprotodontia
  (9 species
    4 from Ellura)
Kangaroo & Wallaby
Macropodidae
  (5 species
    3 from Ellura)
Euro
Osphranter robustus ssp erubescens


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SynonymMacropus robustus ssp erubescens

Other Common NameCommon Wallaroo

Thank you Antoni Camozzato & Sea-Kangaroo for confirming the id of this species for us
 
Male, profile
Male, scratching
🔍Female, profile
🔍Female, turning
🔍Female, Face & Paws
Kangaroos & Wombats
Diprotodontia
  (9 species
    4 from Ellura)
Kangaroo & Wallaby
Macropodidae
  (5 species
    3 from Ellura)
Red Kangaroo
Osphranter rufus


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SynonymMacropus rufus

Thank you Antoni Camozzato, Mark Hura, Geoffrey Cox , C. Hewitt & Orlando J. Bonney for confirming the id of this species for us

Not necessarily red. Their muzzle is much like a dogs, broad and solid.
Can grow very large (1.8m+), but the females are much smaller than the males.
The females & joey's are easily confused with Euros. If you can get close enough you'll see the smooth hair on the back, and the muzzle has white around the nose.
🔍Male, side & face
🔍Female, Hopping
🔍Female, Hopping
Female & Joey, with prev male
🔍Female, front
🔍Female, front
Foot Pads
Male, back
🔍Female, back
Kangaroos & Wombats
Diprotodontia
  (9 species
    4 from Ellura)
Kangaroo & Wallaby
Macropodidae
  (5 species
    3 from Ellura)
Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby
Petrogale xanthopus
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This was photographed in a zoo
Profile
Oversized feet & hands
Kangaroos & Wombats
Diprotodontia
  (9 species
    4 from Ellura)
Kangaroo & Wallaby
Macropodidae
  (5 species
    3 from Ellura)
Swamp Wallaby
Wallabia bicolor
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Generally we don't get Wallabies in the Murray Mallee region. Those shown here were in a zoo.
It's possible we get these, but if so they'd be pretty rare; perhaps along the river where there is plenty of moisture. There are no records showing on Atlas and the 2010 survey shows them as Data Defficient.
We show Wallabies here to help differentiate them from other 'roos that we do get in the area. Helping people with their wildlife id's.
Female
Head
A Pair about to mate
Front
Kangaroos & Wombats
Diprotodontia
  (9 species
    4 from Ellura)
Brushtail Possum
Phalangeridae
  (1 species
    0 from Ellura)
Brushtail Possum
Trichosurus vulpecula


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Thank you Patrick White for confirming the id of this species for us
 
🔍Female, front
🔍Mother carrying Joey
Tail
Kangaroos & Wombats
Diprotodontia
  (9 species
    4 from Ellura)
Koala
Phascolarctidae
  (1 species
    0 from Ellura)
Koala
Phascolarctos cinereus ssp victor


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Thank you Terra Occ for confirming the id of this species for us

While considered cute and cuddly, wild animals should not be approached. Animals that people hold in zoo's are tame. As with any large wild animal, they can inflict severe injuries if cornered. Having said that, they are not openly aggressive.
A male's mating call is a loud, deep, sickening sound. It's a much bigger sound than their size suggests. This is on purpose; the ladies like their boys to be big, so the boys oblige

They love stringy bark gum trees.
We also often see them walking on the roads through the Adelaide Hills.

You may think we've made a mistake ... of course Koala's aren't introduced! Well, yes they were; locally at least. Introduced to the Adelaide Hills in the middle of last century. So while an Australian native, not a native where these photo's were taken.
This can be related to Cootamundra Wattle. A NSW native, now an "introduced" weed species in the Adelaide Hills.
Similarly, can you image the destruction this species has caused to the local native environs. It's not their fault of course, should never have been located there in the first place. But Tourism is a powerful motivator in our Society.
Male, about to fall
🔍Male, saved himself
🔍Male, retreating
I love my tree
Morning sleepy head
My, what sharp claws you have
These hands are made for climbing
Mum & Bubs
🔍Hello little one
Kangaroos & Wombats
Diprotodontia
  (9 species
    4 from Ellura)
Ringtail Possum
Pseudocheiridae
  (1 species
    0 from Ellura)
Ringtail Possum
Pseudocheirus peregrinus


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Thank you Kate Sandiford for confirming the id of this species for us

It seems they can be differentiated from Brush-tails without seeing the tail:
Lee-anne Lever said "Ringtails have small rounded ears."
🔍Profile
🔍Front
Kangaroos & Wombats
Diprotodontia
  (9 species
    4 from Ellura)
Wombat
Vombatidae
  (1 species
    1 from Ellura)
Southern Hairy-Nosed Wombat
Lasiorhinus latifrons


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Thank you Alan Melville & RudyNature for confirming the id of this species for us

Nocturnal, but can rarely come out in the day to warm in the sun.
They vary in colour from dusky brown to dark grey.
They often have a light grey patch on the nose as well as eye highlights (above and below the eye).
Very fast runners, but don't get much nutrition out of their grass feed, so best not to disturb them.
Baby wombats are called "Pinkies" as they don't have any hair. They are only ever seen due to the mothers being killed and people removing the babies to try and save them.
🔍Front, showing claws
🔍Profile
🔍Doing Pre-flight Checks
🔍Low Flying Wombat
Our Largest Warren
Scratching Post
Hares & Rabbits
Lagomorpha
  (2 species
    2 from Ellura)
Hare & Rabbit
Leporidae
  (2 species
    2 from Ellura)
European Hare
Lepus europaeus


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Other Common NamesJack Rabbit or Hare

Thank you Sea-Kangaroo for confirming the id of this species for us
 
🔍Profile
Hiding
Going
Gone
Hares & Rabbits
Lagomorpha
  (2 species
    2 from Ellura)
Hare & Rabbit
Leporidae
  (2 species
    2 from Ellura)
Feral European Rabbit
Oryctolagus cuniculus


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Other Common NameBLOODY Rabbit

Thank you Josh Magro for confirming the id of this species for us
 
🔍Anterior
Profile
🔍Flash Artifact in the Eyes
🔍Posterior
Egg Laying Mammals
Monotremata
  (1 species
    1 from Ellura)
Echidna
Tachyglossidae
  (1 species
    1 from Ellura)
Short-beaked Echidna
Tachyglossus aculeatus


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Thank you Jane Widness for confirming the id of this species for us

Covered in sharp spines. In defence will wedge themselves under bushes (in this case rocks) or, if out in the open, dig themselves down by pushing soil out the side.
Their spines are dark grey and light brown
Front
🔍Profile
🔍Dug In
Back
🔍Face
Head Profile
🔍Face & Snout
Bandicoots & Bilbies
Peramelemorphia
  (1 species
    0 from Ellura)
Bandicoot
Peramelidae
  (1 species
    0 from Ellura)
Southern Brown Bandicoot
Isoodon obesulus ssp obesulus


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Thank you Geoffrey Cox for confirming the id of this species for us
 
🔍Profile
Rodents
Rodentia
  (3 species
    2 from Ellura)
Murid
Muridae
  (3 species
    2 from Ellura)
Ozzie Otter
Hydromys chrysogaster


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Other Common NamesNative Otter, Rakali or Water-rat

Thank you Michal Sloviak for confirming the id of this species for us

Credit to Colin Cook for the common name
🔍Profile, swimming
Back, swimming
Rodents
Rodentia
  (3 species
    2 from Ellura)
Murid
Muridae
  (3 species
    2 from Ellura)
Western European House Mouse
Mus musculus ssp domesticus


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Thank you Antoni Camozzato for confirming the id of this species for us
 
🔍Profile
Rodents
Rodentia
  (3 species
    2 from Ellura)
Murid
Muridae
  (3 species
    2 from Ellura)
Black Rat
Rattus rattus


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Thank you JosefNR for confirming the id of this species for us

~150mm long.
It seems their tail is diagnostic.
We are amazed we get such large, introduced animals out here in near desert Australia.
🔍Profile
🔍Tail

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