Blue Mountains Mammals

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About Blue Mountains Mammals

"Many of the mammals of the Blue Mountains are nocturnal and hence seldom seen. More often, indirect evidence of their presence is encountered - tracks, droppings, scratch-marks and nests. A guide to identifying these signs is now available (Barbara Triggs’ book Mammal Tracks and Signs) and is a must for anyone with an interest in mammals.

Within the Blue Mountains, 45 species of native mammals have been recorded. Another four species, the Squirrel Glider, New Holland Mouse, Common Dunnart and Eastern Horseshoe-bat, have been recorded nearby and are likely to occur in the Mountains. In addition to the native mammals, 13 introduced species have been recorded living in a feral state in the area.

The mammals are a diverse group and exploit a range of habitats. They include animals that are largely aquatic such as the Platypus and the Water Rat, tree dwellers such as gliders and the Koala, and those that live at ground level and shelter in burrows, such as the wombat and native rats.

The mammals may be divided into three groups or evolutionary lines: monotremes, marsupials and placentals. Each group has a characteristic reproductive strategy. The monotremes are egg layers. The marsupials produce live but very immature young, which complete their development attached to a teat within a pouch or ‘marsupium’. The young of placental mammals develop within the mother attached to a placenta, and are born at a relatively mature stage. All mammals suckle their young.

There are only three surviving monotremes—the Platypus and two species of echidna—but two of the three occur in the Blue Mountains. The marsupials are the dominant mammal group locally, as they are Australia-wide. Marsupials may be carnivorous/omnivorous (quolls, antechinuses, dunnarts and bandicoots) or herbivorous (gliders, possums, wombats, koalas, bettongs, kangaroos and wallabies). The native placentals in the Mountains are the bats, rodents and the Dingo. All the introduced mammals are placentals."

Reference: ‘Fauna of the Blue Mountains’ by Judy and Peter Smith.