Fat Tailed Dunnarts
Scientific Name
Sminthopsis crassicaudata
Conservation Status
Least Concern
This animal can not visit your location
for a presentation.
This animal is not used for Wilbur’s Wildlife event displays.
This animal is on show during private zoo tours.
Our Animals
Wilbur’s Wildlife work with a number of facilities as part of a breeding project for this species helping to keep them going in captive care in Australia. For the past couple of years our role has been to house elderly males or pairs for use in our event displays to help educate visitors on what a dunnart is and to free up space for breeding at other facilities.
At present we are home to 1 elderly male known as Toby who came to use for his retirement. While we typically find adult dunnarts to be quite calm Toby does not like the car and as such we have stopped taking him out to events. He is on display on our private zoo tours and has a favourite log that likes to sleep on.
In 2019 Wilbur’s Wildlife are developing our enclosures with a view to eventually welcoming 10 breeding pairs of dunnarts to contribute to the program for this species.
Appearance
Fat tailed dunnarts have a light fawn coloured back with white fur on the underside which extends up to the nose. The feet and the insides of the ears are pink. Their large eyes are black as is the nose. Their tail is uniformly grey with a light covering of fur and shaped a bit like a carrot.
They are a small animal measuring just 6-7cm (2.4-2.8in) long. The tail adds a further 5-7cm (2-2.8in) to their length. They weigh between 10 and 20g (0.35-0.7oz).
Lifespan
Females live for up to 18 months with males having a slightly shorter lifespan at 15 months in the wild.
In captivity, they can live for over 2 years. One dunnart at Wilbur’s Wildlife lived to be 3 1/2 years old.
Diet
Fat tailed dunnarts are carnivores. In the wild their diet consists mostly of insects. They will also eat small reptiles and mammals at times.
During the times when food is in abundance the fat tailed dunnart will eat extra food to store in its tail for when times are bad.
Habitat
Australia is the native home of the fat tailed dunnart. Here they can be found across Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales, Canberra and the Northern Territory.
They occur within deserts, shrub lands woodlands and grasslands. Populations continue to persist in areas which have been turned in to farms. They will shelter under rocks and in logs or cracks in the ground.
Reproduction
In the wild breeding takes place between June and February. Captive animals tend to breed year-round.
Gestation last just 13-14 days following which 6-10 babies are born. On average 5 of these joeys will survive to adulthood. Joeys are born about the size of a grain of rice and are pink, furless and have their eyes closed.
Young remain in the pouch for 70 days. By the end, they hang out of the pouch. Once out of the pouch the mother can carry them around on her back.
Sexually maturity occurs between their 5th and 6th month. Following this a female will have up to 2 litters a year.
Behaviour
Fat tailed dunnarts are a nocturnal species.They can tolerate living in small groups but female’s young are territorial.When the temperature drops, they will enter torpor (a survival technique similar to hibernation) which conserves energy. This will last for up to a few days.
Threats
The Fat tailed dunnart is listed as least concern by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) due to their stable population, wide range and the large number of protected conservation sites in which they exsist.
While they are faring well some of the other dunnart species are not doing so well. Here in South Australia, the Kangaroo Island dunnart (Sminthopsis aitkeni) is a critically endangered species. They exist in a small area potentially less than 100km2. A single catastrophic event could wipe them out. Helping to protect habitat on kangaroo island is one of the best ways to help this species which is not represented in captivity.
Quick Facts
When it is cold they huddle together with the house mouse to keep both species warm. When the weather warms up the house mouse can be a prey item for the fat tailed dunnart.
The fat tailed dunnart is one of 19 dunnart species found in Australia.
References
Burbidge, A., Robinson, T., Ellis, M., Dickman, C., Menkhorst, P. & Woinarski, J. 2016. Sminthopsis crassicaudata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T40541A21948539. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T40541A21948539.en. Downloaded on 03 January 2019.
Van Weenen, J. 2008. Sminthopsis fuliginosus ssp. aitkeni. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2008: e.T20294A9183297. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T20294A9183297.en. Downloaded on 03 January 2019.
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