For several nights now Mrs P and I have been woken by the sound of something that sounds very much like, say, a rat gnawing on wood. It’s just outside our bedroom window, which is quite near the boundary with the neighbours. I went out last night to see if I could figure out what it was, hoping it wasn’t something eating our house (which is wooden).
I was fully expecting the noise to stop as soon as I got near, but actually no; the sound continued. It was quite clearly not coming from our yard but from the other side of the (wooden) fence along our boundary. The fence is made of treated wood so it seems unlikely that something would be munching it. Just over the fence is a screen of bamboo plants. The fence is solid and tall, so I couldn’t see through or over it.
Just past the bamboo plants is a concrete path, then the neighbours’ house but it’s made of modern sheet materials, not wood.
As far as I know drop bears only eat eucalyptus, hoop snakes are carnivorous, and bunyips are only found near waterholes (the neighbours do have a pool I suppose…) I guess it could be an insomniac panda who has strayed far from home, but that seems a little unlikely. Maybe stray Vietcong who haven’t heard the war is over, sharpening punji stakes?
Bamboo spider, most likely. You know how funnel-webs make their nests in grass? Like that, only bigger…
Serious answer - don’t some wallabies eat bamboo?
I’m surprised that no one has suggested that it might be the elusive Chupacabra. We’ve had little success finding them here in the new world. Maybe they’ve fled to Oz.
Bamboo rats do, but there aren’t any in Australia.
Since you haven’t actually seen if the animal is eating the bamboo, or if it’s on the ground or climbing in it, it’s hard to venture a guess. My first guess would be one of the native rodents, but maybe a brush-tailed possum might do that if were really hungry.
Doubtless that’s what people said about raccoons and foxes too. But I’m not a wallaby expert, it’s doubtless harder for herbivores.
Although, when you say “inner city”, I don’t think I’m picturing things right, to me that means apartments or townhouses, not fences and living bamboo screens. Sounds more like where I live.
Wallabies eat grass not hard bamboo stalks. And they are not the type of animal to hide in a log or burrow during the day. If they were around, it would be obvious.
