Tasmania’s Rarely Seen Wildlife.

Quolls and Tasmanian Devils are not usually seen in the wild.

A Bandicoot in Flagstaff Gully. By the author.

Tasmania is notorious for the extinction of the thylacine, or Tasmanian Tiger, at the hands of the European colonisers.

That protecting the species that remain is not a priority for some Tasmanians is incredibly disappointing.

Unique species remain including the Tasmanian Devil and pademelon, and distinct variations of the quoll, the platypus and echidna which are typically more hairy than their mainland equivalents. It gets cold in Tasmania!

While I’ve many photos of pademelon and bandicoots at dawn, possums at night, and platypus and echidna at any time of day, I’ve had no such luck with devils, quolls and rakali. I’ve seen a rakali in the wild, their orange chest and white-tipped tail is impressive.

Devils and quolls? No such luck, well, not ones that weren’t roadkill.

While humans remain an ever present threat, feral cats are increasingly decimating the wildlife.

I saw one just a few weeks ago, curled up in the bushes in the upper Derwent Valley.

Attracting and trapping these cats is especially difficult. Their cunning has only increased over time.