SPECIES: Dasyuroides byrnei — Kowari
CLASSIFICATION: Vulnerable
Don't be fooled by the sweet, innocent looking face of the Kowari. With its large eyes, grey fluffy fur coat and brush of black hair at the the end of its tail, the pint-sized Kowari is a carnivorous marsupial and kills its prey with a strong bite to the head. Their diet list includes: ground-dwelling birds, rodents (rats and mice), reptiles and frogs - certainly packs a punch. You'll find the Kowari in the stony deserts of south-west Queensland and north-east South Australia. With the population in decline, the primary threat remains habitat degradation particularly by livestock and also rabbits; also predation by cats, foxes and dingoes, loss of habitat and road mortality.