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| Common Name: | Long-nosed potoroo | Family: | Potoroidae |
| Latin Name: | Potorous tridactylus | Diet: | Omnivore |
| Type: | Mammal | Habitat: | Woodlands, Grasslands |
| Native To: | Australasia | Social Unit: | Individual |
| IUCN Red List Status: | Least concern |
Long-nosed potoroos at Edinburgh Zoo
Here at Edinburgh Zoo we have four long-nosed potoroo. Harold and Madge were both born in February 2007 and came to us from Blackpool Zoo in September 2007. In February 2008 Harold and Madge had a son, named Bouncer, followed by another son, Bruce in Janaury 2009.
Long-nosed potoroos in the wild
The long-nosed potoroo (Potorous tridactylus) is found in eastern Australia and Tasmania. They can live in coastal heaths, rainforests, scrubland, or woodlands as long as they have dense undergrowth. Potoroo require this covering for protection and nesting and can travel through it quickly by making a network of clear pathways.
Traveling by hopping with their front claws up by their chest, potoroos resemble kangaroos. This is not the only similarity, as they both have a pouch for their young. The potoroo’s tail is also very useful as they not only grip with it but can collect nesting material with it too.
As long-nosed potoroos are omnivores, they have a quite varied diet. They feed on bulbs, fruit, flowers, grasses, insects, larvae, roots and seeds. The also eat fungi which they dig up with their sharp claws.
Solitary animals, potoroo only come together to mate. After a gestation period of approximately five weeks, the female gives birth to a single young which then crawls into her pouch where it feeds on her milk. It remains there for four months, after which the youngster starts to venture out to begin foraging. However it always returns to it’s mother’s the pouch until it has grown too big to get back in. The lifespan of the long-nosed potoroo is approximately twelve years.
Although they are nocturnal, long-nosed potoroo are still prey to dingoes, feral cats and dogs, foxes and owls. Although a protected species, habitat destruction from bush fires and land clearing is a threat to them.
Adopt a Long-nosed potoroo A great way to support RZSS – buy it for yourself or as a gift for the animal lover in your life!
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