Dibbler
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ID#3
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Animal Report
Classification: Mammal Endangered Status: Endangered Threatened Habitat: Leaf Litter and Sandy Soils Dibblers are very small and the males average about 145mm and 60-100g while the females average about 140mm and 40-75g. Their body length is fourteen to fifteen cm long without the tail. The tail is 8-11 cm long. Dibblers have pointed snouts, long whiskers, a tapering hairy tail, and two large eyes with white’s rings around, and strong jaws that have six to seven tiny sharp teeth. They also have groove pads on their feet and sharp claws so they can climb up trees and rocks no problem. Their hair color is a brownish-grey on the top of the body, they have grayish- white in the middle, and a yellow color on the bottom of the body. Their hair line is very thin. Dibblers are so small that if you hold your hand vertically your hand is taller the Dibbler. They use vocalization usually only heard during mating and when attracted to a mate. They also sniff when they are mating, but they only sniff the facial parts. Dibblers are most active at dawn or dusk which means they are nocturnal. A Dibbler is a carnivore. They feed on dwelling insects such as (grasshoppers, cockroaches, beetles, termites, ants, etc.) they mostly eat small lizards, small birds, and small mammals. They sometimes eat some small vertebrates and a variety of arthropods. Females have an oestrous cycle per year and mating occurs March and April. Females give birth up to eight babies. Infants stay in the moms pouch for several weeks until they are fully developed and before they are too large to fit in the pocket. The behavior increases when the females get closer to the male. The males usually chase after the females, but it can be vice versa. Females only breed once, but the males can do it multiple times. They live three to five years. Dibbler is one of the rarest mammals in the world. It takes them 44 days to gestate food. They have certain breeding months for males and females. They have high energy in breeding season. There are sicknesses that can make only male dibblers die or vary sick the diseases are ulcers, anemia, etc. You can find a Dibbler in South- Western Australia. They occur in the Fitzgerald River National Park, Boullanger Island, Whitlock Island, Escape Island, Peniup, and Sterling Range. The world only has five hundred to thousand dibblers left in the world. The three islands Boullanger, Whitlock, and Escape only have a total of two hundred dibblers on all three islands together. 90% of the dibblers have died since the first one has been found. They are clearing their habitat. In the 1900s they thought the dibblers were going to be extinct. In the 1900s they thought the dibblers were going to be extinct. Southern Dibblers, Speckled Marsupial (Mouse), and Freckled Marsupial Mouse. |