Very rarely seen marsupial with silky golden fur spotted near Uluru

June 25, 2023 12:27 AM

Very rarely seen marsupial with silky golden fur spotted near Uluru. The marsupial mole is completely blind, swims through the desert sand and rarely ventures above ground. But one eagle-eyed traveller is in disbelief after spotting one attempting to cross the road.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries (11 comments total)

Very cool. Every time one of these Australian animals pops up I have to google it to see if it's real. And it is:

The southern marsupial mole is preposterous, even by Australian standards
posted by mmoncur at 4:03 AM on June 25, 2023 [7 favorites]

squee!
posted by scruss at 5:59 AM on June 25, 2023 [2 favorites]

Except dang those claws
posted by mediareport at 6:47 AM on June 25, 2023 [1 favorite]

There's video of the cute critters digging at mmoncur's link.
posted by mediareport at 6:48 AM on June 25, 2023 [3 favorites]

"In fox scats, their beautiful silky fur has turned up and their little spade-like claws."
posted by Nelson at 7:56 AM on June 25, 2023

Cool to see that it is just called Uluru now.
posted by Meatbomb at 10:34 AM on June 25, 2023 [4 favorites]

They’re so cute and lumpy! I love heem. 😍
posted by kitten kaboodle at 11:34 AM on June 25, 2023 [2 favorites]

How does it keep that fur so nice, swimming in sand?
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:45 AM on June 25, 2023 [1 favorite]

I would guess that sand is cleaner than dirt, absorbs oils and mess. I dunno, I'll go loll around in Palm Springs and let you know?
Thanks for the always excellent creature content!
posted by winesong at 5:46 PM on June 25, 2023 [1 favorite]

Why did the very rarely seen marsupial mole cross the road?
posted by Naberius at 9:14 PM on June 26, 2023

Watching that video made me wonder if there's an evolutionary advantage in its back end resembling an echidna's front end, or if that's just one of nature's random jokes.
posted by EvaDestruction at 11:46 AM on June 29, 2023