blamebrampton: 15th century woodcut of a hound (Default)
[personal profile] blamebrampton
Fantastic video on the Sydney Morning Herald site today, baby quolls and koalas! I have a huge love for quolls, they are the native Australian equivalent of a cat, taking up the same evolutionary roles here. And they are enormously cute, see –
Dasyurus maculatus -Healesville Sanctuary, Australia-8a

They are also terrible little thieves. Years ago I did the Freycinet walk on a guided tour (with this mob, who were AMAZING, if you ever get the chance, I highly recommend them. Exxy, but unforgettable.) It's a four-day walk through beautiful bushland on a peninsula on the east coast of Tasmania, through the freshest air imagineable, with beautiful wildflowers and astonishing wildlife. At night, you stay in a standing camp which is set up to have minimal impact on the environment. They warn you to make sure that you pack everything away at night, as Australian native animals are on the whole fiendish little muesli snack snatchers.

On the last night, I had stayed up at the campfire reading until all the couples had been gone for a while (because tents are thin, and awkward!), had a wash and neatened my tent before going to sleep. A few hours after dropping off, I woke to pitch blackness and a very nearby rustling sound. Very slowly and quietly, I reached for the torch I always keep by my pillow when travelling*, turned it in the direction of the sound, and turned it on.

I confess, I was expecting a python, because they are like puppies and will seek out a nice warm spot to sleep, though it was very late for one to be looking for a nap space.

Nope, it was a quoll. With one of my best hiking socks in its mouth. 'What are you doing?' I whispered. 'That's my sock!'

Obviously it did not say anything in English, but interpreting quoll body language, it opened its little mouth with a definite air of 'What, this thing?'

'I need that to walk tomorrow!' I whispered.

It put a paw on the sock, as though to say, 'Are you sure? It would make excellent nesting material!'

'No, quoll, it's mine!'

With an expression of infinite disappointment at my lack of generosity, it turned and squidged its way out underneath my tent door. I turned my torch off and sat there in the dark with a big grin on my face, because despite being thieving little bastards, quolls are so incredibly cute and I had never seen one in real life before and here was one two feet from me!

Then I turned my torch back on, leaned over, stuffed my socks deep inside my boots and tucked them underneath my camp bed. Just to be safe.


* This is the one travel tip of mine you should seriously consider. It's especially brilliant for camping, and in a hotel will keep you safe looking for the exit during a fire alarm or blinding the eyes of burglars while you reach for something to thwack em with! (And also helps out with the 'Where the hell is the light switch?' moments when your body decides now is a great moment for a wee.)

Date: 2011-11-05 01:53 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] enchanted-jae.livejournal.com
Next time, pack an extra sock. You know, one of those that has lost its mate and may wish to end up as nesting material.

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blamebrampton: 15th century woodcut of a hound (Default)
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