Thread by @TCastanea

FIRST UP!! #1 seed RED KANGAROO (Osphranter rufus) vs wild card winner SOUTHERN RED-BACKED VOLE (Myodes gapperi) #RedInFur #2021MMM

Red Kangaroos are the largest living marsupial, weighing in at up to 90kg & 1.8m tall when standing. Male red kangaroos are much larger than females, up to twice the size. Males are also reddish in color, while the females are bluish-grey (Freedman et al. 2020) #2021MMM

The hop of O. rufus averages 1m when the animal is moving slowly, but is lengthened with speed, up to 3–4 m. At short bursts, it can reach speeds of 40km/hr!! (Freedman et al 2020) #2021MMM

At first glance, Southern Red-backed Voles (SRB Vole) may be confused w/ a mouse, but compared to mice their ears are smol & hidden by fur, plus their tails are tiny little nubbins (Merritt 1981) #PerfectTail #2021MMM

Unlike kangaroos which are herbivores, voles are omnivorous & have a diverse diet of grasses, seeds, berries, roots, fungi & arthropods (Merritt 1981) Pic: @inaturalist #CARNAGE #2021MMM

Tonight's battle takes place on Charles Darwin Reserve in Western Australia co-managed by @BushHeritageAus & traditional owners the Badimaya people. bushheritage.org.au/places-we-prot… #2021MMM

In 2015, I had the good fortunte to visit the Charles Darwin Reserve and contribute to a study of bats as part of the @BushHeritageAus & @ConservationWA Climate Change Observatory Project bushheritage.org.au/newsletters/20… #2021MMM

Charles Darwin Reserve lies north-east of Perth, on the northern edge of the Western Australian wheat belt. It provides habitat for at least 230 animal & 680 plant species, including RED KANGAROOS Pic: Dale Fuller #2021MMM

SRB Vole finds itself in a habitat that is unfamiliar... it is dry, SO DRY, and dusty. This isn't the woodland Kawawachikamach, a Naskapi/Iyiyiw First Nations Reserve on the Taiga Shield. (Souto-Lima & Millien 2014) Pic: NYT #2021MMM

It is dusk, prime foraging time! Our vole finds itself smack dab in the middle of a kangaroo mob grazing on drying autumn grass. It starts to nibble on a seed when suddenly, it's soaking wet. Could it be sweet, refreshing rain?! #2021MMM [gif: man asking how is it dry & wet]

That's not rain! It's spit from a huge, hungry, slobbering Red Kangaroo #Yuck #2021MMM

SRB Vole scans for something to climb & finds a nearby Acacia cerastes (a rare, wiry wattle) shrub to escape the downpour (Morris 2009) #2021MMM

RED KANGAROO DEFEATS SOUTHERN RED-BACKED VOLE!!!! #2021MMM