Page:A primer of forestry, with illustrations of the principal forest trees of Western Australia.djvu/118

112 CHAPTER XV.

ANIMALS OF THE FOREST.

The animals, or more correctly mammals, of Western Australia play but an unimportant part in the life of the trees of the forest, partly because most of them are small, and partly because, under normal conditions, they are not numerous. At the same time it should be noted that the mammal fauna of Western Australia includes many plant feeders, among which are included all the larger forms, except the dingo, which is carnivorous. The other flesh feeders are small, the native cat or dasyure being the most important. Some species live almost entirely upon insects and other vermin.

1. Chiroptera—Bats.

The bats of the South- West and Central Districts are all insectivorous and so are of considerable value to the forester. They are crepuscular or nocturnal, and in the warmer months may be seen in the dusk flitting through the air in search of their prey.

In the North-West the Blood-sucking Bat or False Vampire, a bat which feeds upon the blood of small mammals, birds, and reptiles, is found in the more arid parts.

The Kimberley District possesses several species of the large Fruit-eating Bat or Flying Fox. These are fairly numerous in certain parts and will, no doubt, prove a serious pest when attempts are made to grow tropical fruits on a large scale.

2. Rodentia—Rats and Mice.

The various species of native rats and mice, which were never numerous, are being rapidly exterminated by the Black Rat and the Domestic Mouse—creatures which are a source of great loss to mankind and are among man's most repulsive and dangerous enemies. Relentness war should be waged upon these pests which, because of their great fertility and remarkable power of adaptation may, if unchecked, become a serious menace to the forester.

3. Carnivora—Dogs and Cats.

The only native animal that is exclusively carnivorous is the Dingo or Native Dog. This dog causes great loss to sheep farmers and breeders of stock, and therefore is being hunted systematically in many parts of the State. On the other hand, the dingo preys upon many of the plant-eating marsupials and there can be little doubt that the recent unwelcome increase in numbers of the wallabies in some parts of the South-West is due to the gradual disappearance of the dingo.

The wild form of the Domestic Cat, which until recently was protected as an exterminator of rabbits, has done incalculable damage by killing many birds of the bush, most of them insect-eaters, and steps should be taken to reduce its numbers in forest lands.

4. Diprotodont Marsupials—Kangaroos, Wallabies, etc.

This large group of Australian marsupials, distinguished by the presence of two large incisor teeth in the lower jaw, consists almost entirely of vegetable feeders. The kangaroos and larger wallabies are grazing animals and would therefore do