They could live in your backyard, but you may not even know of them.
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Phascogales are a small marsupial that was once spread over tracts of south east Australia.
Now, they have just small populations in Queensland and NSW. Most of the species are confined to central Victoria. They rely on hollows in trees to build their nest.
But, even this habitat is endangered. This is where PhD student William Terry hopes to help.
Tree hollows can take hundreds of years to form, in old-growth trees.
As most of Victoria’s forests have been cleared at some point, nesting spots for the phascogale are scarce. Other species such as the brush-tailed possum also suffer.
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Each phascogale, however, needs up to 40 nesting hollows.
Nest boxes are one solution, but the structures are temporary, with a lifespan of only around eight years.
So, Mr Terry is trialing a new idea.
Contractors have cut hollows into trees with chainsaws, in an effort to develop longer lasting hollows.
Next to these, Mr Terry has installed nest boxes, with identical dimensions.
For five years, Mr Terry will monitor the hollows and the nest boxes monthly, to see which the phascogales prefer.
Six months in, things are already looking positive.
“I’m already starting to find that we’re getting a high uptake of animals, phascogales and sugar gliders,” he said.
To Mr Terry, the species is critical to central Victoria.
“I see them as an icon species for our region. They’re just a species that’s really key to our area,” he said.
The hollows have been installed in Bendigo Regional Park near Spring Gully, as well as in the Mount Alexander Shire and the Macedon Ranges.
The project is being undertaken with Parks Victoria.