Marsupial Spotlight: Boodie

Here we have another rodent-like marsupial with a silly name. Yes, it shall now be my pleasure to tell you all about the boodie. It's a big boodie too! Indeed, the boodie can average 15 inches from head to tail. The tail is also quite long and somewhat prehensile. It is commonly used to carry nesting material. The boodie resembles a rat with kangaroo feet in many ways, but unlike a rat, its tail is covered in fur with a little white patch at the tip. As their official conservation status is considered "Near Threatened," they can only be found in the off-lying islands of Australia and on the mainland of Shark Bay. Although the boodie is a fun name to say, they are also commonly known as a tungoo, Lesueur's rat-kangaroo, and the short-nosed rat-kangaroo. But I like boodie better.

The boodie is a macropod. This means that they have a large pouch that has a horizontal opening. They are also the only macropod in the world who burrows. They use these borrows for shelter during the day. At night they come out looking for food. Being omnivores, they prefer to eat very little things like tiny plants or very small insects like termites. They are also known for raiding vegetable gardens which do classify them as pests sadly.

The most significant aspect of the boodie is its reproductive qualities. No, I'm serious. I'm not making a joke. Much of my research into this area left me rather fascinated. The boodies are polygamous which basically places more than one female to each male. The females often form what may seem like friendships with each other in boodie society. The males allow this, but they do try to keep other males from messing around with their female boodies. Hehe. Really, it's very hard to write this without laughing. I'm doing my best. I swear it's all based on research.

After two boodies mate, there is a shockingly short gestation period of 21 days. Additionally, there will only ever be one offspring per boodie. That's right: just one. The very second the female has finished giving birth, the male will mate with her again, but here something really odd happens. Once the egg is fertilized, it will go completely dormant until the child has been properly weaned. This is a rare but not unheard of reproductive ability known as facultative embryonic diapause. Only about 100 mammals in our world can do this. Because of their high rate of growth, one female boodie can produce up to three offspring a year.

I think, perhaps, this may be the most shameless display of punning I've done in a while, but I just couldn't resist it. The boodie is still a very interesting creature, and I can see them in fiction as well. Some societies of humans are fond of polygamy, and the boodies as characters would fit right in. Multiple wives would be a norm to them, and the females would become friends with each other as well. I never really saw them as bad people--despite the garden thievery. I am fairly certain they were just trying to provide for their ever-growing families. I would imagine that other visiting marsupials might find their lifestyle a bit too unorthodox, or maybe not.

Agree or disagree with the little guys, they still lead a fascinating life. Here is another reason to love the marsupials, and not just for all the puns; although, the puns are nice too.

Thank you for reading this blog! If you enjoyed it, you can comment below, or you can email me at tooie@tooiekangaroo.com. Boodie call!