Unexpected Captures of Hopping Mice in Tree-Mounted Phascogale Traps in Western Australia

Hopping mice are omnivorous rodents known for their burrowing habits and are not typically found in trees. We provide a record of an unusually high number of hopping mice caught in tree-mounted Elliott traps targeting red-tailed phascogales ( Phascogale calura ) at a multi-species reintroduction site in Western Australia. In 2024, 43 captures of hopping mice, representing two extant Notomys spp. (spinifex hopping mouse N. alexis and Mitchell’s hopping mouse N. mitchellii ), were unexpectedly captured in Elliott traps positioned >1.5 m off the ground, including three instances where two hopping mice were captured in a single trap. These captures provide evidence of previously unrecorded climbing behaviour by foraging hopping mice.