Got a chance to go 'Spotlighting' last night. Here, this is not, as in the US, commonly known as a way for rednecks to hunt deer, but instead a great way to see the huge diversity of nocturnal animals that Australia hosts.
Drove away from Brisbane a bit to the 'Greater Glider Conservation Area'. Oh my gosh, is that a gremlin in the tree? No, just a greater glider!
Other highlights (cough cough... get it?) were common ringtail possums, brushtail possums, and my first wild Koala! We saw one healthy individual, and unfortunately one infected with chlamydia. Don't laugh, it doesn't mean this little guy is slutty or forgot to wear a rubber. This highly communicable bacterial infection has been running rampant around the Queensland Koala population, and has devastated their numbers. Cutting the population down by over 50% in under a decade, this disease is literally threatening the existence of one of Australia's most iconic species. Our naturalist guide for the night reported the diseased Koala, and so hopefully this guy will be brought into custody and treated with antibiotics.
On a happier note.... look how cute they are! And also the tawny frogmouth (the nocturnal insectivorous bird to the right). Look at his silly frog mouth. Also got a good view of a powerful owl. This is the biggest owl in Australia, and has the biggest range to go with its large size and booming call. So it's lucky to catch a glimpse of this bird at any point in space and on one particular night!
Also got a chance to see some of the creepy crawlies of the night. Some baby wolf spiders, golden orb weavers, this huntsman spider, and my very first CANE TOAD! There were also some swamp wallabies crashing through the bush. Although probably cute and cuddly like the above animals, I'm listing it here, because it sounds like something from a bad 1940's horror film.
Australian vocab:
scribbly bark: An australian tree (Eucalyptus haemastoma) as seen at right here. Can't understand why they'd call it scribbly bark...
But seriously, a moth larvae that lives specifically just below the bark of this tree, makes this really cool pattern.
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