‘Mythical’ creature’s existence was debated for 30 years — then it appeared on camera
For decades, wildlife experts debated whether a rare creature lived in a southern state of Australia — until the small, furry animal appeared on trail cameras looking for a meal.
The long-footed potoroo is a “rabbit-sized” marsupial with a long nose, grayish brown fur and a hairless tail, according to the New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage. It is “extremely rare” and considered critically endangered in the state.
“They’re listed as critically endangered within this state because there was previously no confirmed location where they may occur,” Rohan Bilney, an ecologist with the Forestry Corporation of New South Wales, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
“It’s been this mythical creature that we weren’t sure whether or not it existed,” he told the outlet.
Wildlife experts reported finding traces of the elusive long-footed potoroo — its hair samples and its presence in predators’ scat — about 30 years ago in Bondi State Forest, New South Wales. But they had never documented any living animals, according to an Oct. 11 news release from the Forestry Corporation of New South Wales shared with McClatchy News.
This indirect evidence sparked decades of debate and speculation about the potoroo’s existence in the state, officials said.
To investigate, the Forestry Corporation set up 88 trail cameras and truffle oil lures in Bondi State Forest. They monitored the cameras for three weeks in June and July.
“When I saw the photos, I was just in shock,” Bilney said in the release.
Long-footed potoroos were photographed at nine different camera sites, with photos showing the furry animals foraging at night.
“I knew I was looking at the first confirmed record of a living (long-footed potoroo) in New South Wales,” Bilney said in the release. “It was really exciting, almost like finding the holy grail.”
The potoroos were photographed by cameras over a roughly 0.6-mile span in a few days, indicating a “small population” lived in the state forest, he said.
Wildlife officials will continue monitoring and studying the now-confirmed long-footed potoroo population, the release said.
New South Wales is a southeastern Australian state that includes Sydney. Bondi State Forest is about 250 miles southwest of Sydney.
This story was originally published October 12, 2023 at 12:31 PM with the headline "‘Mythical’ creature’s existence was debated for 30 years — then it appeared on camera."
