Antechinus agilis

1 Agile Antechinus at Doctor George Mountain, NSW

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Identification history

Antechinus agilis

6 Jun 2020

AndrewMcCutcheon

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User's notes

The residents at the Dr George Mountain property thought the small droppings in a shed beside the house were from House Mice, and were planning to put out some poison bait. I thought otherwise, so I set my motion sensing camera to find the small mammals responsible for the droppings were Agile Antechinus. Needless to say no mouse poison was put out.

2 comments

JackieMiles wrote:

7 Jun 2020

I doubt they would have eaten it even if it had been, being carnivores. But if there were mice also present, they might have consumed the dead mice perhaps.

AndrewMcCutcheon wrote:

7 Jun 2020

Thanks, Jackie, for the confirmation. After an experience in 2007 when a male Agile Antechinus was found dying (and died an hour later) in my brother's Gippsland farmhouse where some mouse poison was put out supposedly for house mice, I was concerned it may have eaten or just tasted some of the bait. But as the time of this incident was in early June, I also realized that male antechinus naturally die about this time of the year (they only live for about twelve months) to ensure there is less competition for food and the possibility of becoming a predator of the next antechinus generation when they are born. So, it may have died anyway, and it was just coincidental that mouse bait was placed nearby.

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