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Phascogales (Phascogale tapoatafa) is a small, tree-climbing, carnivorous marsuipial that lives in forest regions of southern Australia. Although they were relatively abundant in the past (people talk of seeing them at Ocean Grove) there are many places where their numbers have declined. They get around in the dark most of the time, and they are really good at avoiding being seen (quite frustrating that they scoot around the back of the tree if you shine a light on them), and most Australians have never seen them.

They shelter in nests in the daytime, usually in tree hollows, but also in stumps and holes in the ground (if these places are safe enough). They eat spiders and insects, and probably whatever they can find in the right season (nectar, birds eggs, rodents, whatever).

These guys should be amazingly abundant, since a female can have several young in a litter, and each female can survive in about 1 square km of good habitat. However, they tend to follow the ''live-fast, die-young" strategy that many small dasyurids have (Dasyuridae is the family of small carnivorous marsuipials like Quolls and Dunnarts). The males live for a whole year, at best! They are born, weaned, grow up and become mature, then seek out a partner, mate and die, all in the space of a year. Females are comparatively long-lived. After mating they bear a litter of young, feed them, wean them and maybe, if its been a really good year, survive to produce another litter before they die.

The main reasons we see them declining are habitat degradation, introduced predators (cats and foxes), reduced habitat connectivity and removal of nesting sites (e.g. illegal fire-wood collection).

The first thing to do is try to estimate how many we have.

Second is to understand their habitat requirements.

Third will be to restore habitat, nest sites and connectivity.........and the sooner we start the better!