Above: An adult female smoky mouse. Photo David Paul, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.
Right: Zoos Victoria’s Native Rodent Biologist, Dr Phoebe Burns. Photo courtesy Zoos Victoria.
Q&A with Zoos Victoria’s Dr Phoebe Burns
T
he smoky mouse (Pseudomys fumeus) is one of Murrindindi Shire’s endangered native rodent species, with populations hanging on in the Lake Eildon and Yarra Ranges national parks. Zoos Victoria’s Native Rodent Biologist, Dr Phoebe Burns, met her first “smokies” on a Grampians research trip in 2012, completed a Master’s on their response to the 2013 bushfires and has worked with them ever since. Dr Burns manages Zoos Victoria’s native rodent conservation programs, focusing on the Smoky Mouse and New Holland Mouse. She also chairs the
National Recovery Teams for both species. To get you better acquainted with our local smokies, Dr Burns shares some of her expertise from the last decade of studying these fascinating little critters. 1. How would you describe the smoky mouse and is it really a ‘mouse’? The word ‘mouse’ doesn’t quite conjure up the right image when describing smokies – they’re far more charming than the nonnative house mice that people are used to invading their homes, and much less smelly. Smokies are a petite 50-60 grams, about three Murrindindi Guide – WINTER 2022 – 23
