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wild animal paw print

Photo by Leuba Ridgway
Published on Project Noah
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Field Notes

Description:

A wide spade shaped print about 4in x 3in long with three deep depressions for digits and a shallower pad (? divided). The pad impression appeared to have wavy ridges.
A second partial impression was seen slightly behind and to the left of the better defined paw print.
The soil was damp and clayey-slightly oozy. These prints were found on a creek bank in a state forest.

Notes:

This photo was taken from a board walk beside a protected creek in the Sherbrooke Forest of the Dandenong Ranges, Victoria. We have had rains off and on over the last couple of weeks.
The board walk is to prevent any human or dog from accessing the creek as there are platypus in the creek. However, there were several dog paw prints in this area (obviously some human always break the rule!) - the frenzied churned-up soil near this ? wild animal paw print and the presence of dog paw prints might suggest that the dogs would have sniffed the scent of this wild animal.... No other prints were seen.

I am wondering if these are paw prints of the fore limbs of a small swamp wallaby (Wallabia bicolor), which are found in the Sherbrooke Forest.
Wonder if anyone can help - I am hoping it is the paw print of some exciting wild animal !!
Other mammals found in this area are antechinus, water rats, bandicoots, gliders, brush-tailed possums and wombats.

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (3)

No racoons in australia... probably wallaby or small grey kangaroo

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Photographed
PublishedJanuary 23, 2012

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