I had heard from a colleague that there were Quenda in Victoria Gardens, Claisebrook Cove in East Perth – less than 2km from the Perth CBD.
The council have put signs up to let people know about them – see this twitter post.
So this week my brother and I went out looking for them. Initially we didn’t find any on the grassed areas and in the first few garden beds – but just by the water underneath the bridge we found this guy scratching in the mulch in a garden bed.
In the photo on the left you can see a grub of some sort in his mouth.
The Quenda seemed pretty acclimatised to people – I imagine they might get fed as well?
I took some video but I need to improve my technique!
We heard something else in a bush nearby which I assume was another Quenda. We then looked down along the river to see if we might get lucky and see a Rakali (native water rat).
My brother and I were pleased to see something for the evening in what we both thought was an unlikely spot for a native marsupial – amazing what can be found in the suburbs!
Wildlife Watching in Australia 
Very interesting info Ry ! Always gr8 to see the photos too ! 🙂
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Very interesting info Ry ! Always great to see your photos too ! 🙂
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Good one Ry. I hope that no one mistakes them for rats! Perhaps we should let City of Perth (?) know they’re there? They probably get some food up around the BBQ area as well, even if it’s only a few cockroaches that are drawn to the scraps.
Quenda sure seem to fall into the category of ‘urban adapter’!
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Thanks Tanya – They have a sign located within the gardens about the Quenda but do ask for people to report sightings – so I should do that! I would imagine people might think they are rats..
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I’ve seen Quenda here too – and has me perplexed as to their origin. As the area was an industrial wasteland up until the redevelopment I can’t believe it’s an original remnant population. Maybe an unauthorised reintroduction like Kings Park? ?? There doesn’t seem to be much known about this population.
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Hi Andre, I have heard that genetics are similar to King’s park population so origins likely similar unauthorised reintroduction (Melville, Bibra Lake region). Nice to see them surviving in a such an urban location.
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