Mammals in the Gardens

The most common mammals in the Australian National Botanic Gardens are the several species of small insectivorous tree-dwelling bats which may be seen flying at dusk. The smallest of these, the Little Brown Bat, weighs only 3-4 grams and is smaller than some insects; it is, in fact, one of the tiniest bats in the world. By comparison, the Grey-headed Flying-fox is a veritable giant, having a wingspan exceeding a metre and body weight of nearly a kilogram. It occasionally visits the Gardens in summer, in search of the flowers and fruit upon which it feeds.

Claw marks on some of the smooth-barked trees usually indicate the presence of one of the possums, which sleep by day in tree hollows. The Brush-tailed Possum and the Sugar Glider are fairly common. Sugar Gliders feed extensively on insects and the flowers of trees and shrubs, whereas Brush-tails, and the less common Ring-tailed Possums, tend to rely more on leaves for food.

Two macropods can occasionally be seen in the Gardens, although they are not encouraged, coming in through a gate or fence break from the surrounding reserve. The Eastern Grey Kangaroo is easy to see during a walk on the surrounding Black Mountain Reserve at dusk, while the Swamp Wallaby is much shyer, inhabiting the denser vegetation of the gullies.

Two native ground-dwelling mammals occur in the Gardens: the Yellow-footed Marsupial Mouse and the egg-laying Echidna occasionally wander in from adjacent woodland on Black Mountain. Both species are insectivorous

Feral cats and European rabbits and hares are unfortunately fairly common in the Gardens, and black rats and house mice are also present, but not in large numbers. Foxes are also seen occasionally.

Mammals commonly seen in the Gardens

Bats
Grey-headed Flying-fox	Pteropus poliocephalus	Illustration
White-striped Freetail-bat	Nyctinomus australis
Lesser Long-eared Bat	Nyctophilus geoffroyi	Photo
Gould's Long-eared Bat	Nyctophilus gouldii	Illustration
Gould's Wattled Bat	Chalinolobus gouldii
Chocolate Wattled Bat	Chalinolobus morio	Illustration, photo, story
Little Forest Bat	Vespadelus vulturnus
Southern Forest Bat	Vespadelus regulus
Marsupials
Sugar Glider	Petaurus breviceps	Illustration
Common Brushtail Possum	Trichosurus vulpecula	Illustration
Common Ringtail Possum	Pseudocheirus peregrlnus	Illustration
Yellow-footed Marsupial Mouse	Antechinus flavipes
Eastern Grey Kangaroo	Macropus giganteus	Illustration
Swamp Wallaby	Wallabia bicolor	Illustration
Monotreme
Echidna	Tachyglossus aculeatus	Illustration, Photo
Introduced mammals
Cat	Felis catus
Rabbit	Oryctolagus cuniculus
Brown Hare	Lepus capensis
Black Rat	Rattus rattus
House Mouse	Mus musculus
European Red Fox	Vulpes vulpes

Written by Chris Tideman for ANBG Guide-book, 1980.
Names updated according to 'The Mammals of Australia', 1995, by R Strahan.