We set 10,000 traps in search of a rare native mouse. Here’s what we found

Abby Dennien It’s 5am when we crawl out of our tents. The catbirds are calling and the night sky is fading to dawn, as we prepare to head into the bush. We’re surrounded by the towering eucalypts of southeast Queensland in search of a small, native mouse called the pookila. Also known as the New Holland mouse (Pseudomys novaehollandiae), the pookila is about the size of a small chocolate bar, weighing less than 20 grams. These mice spend their nights foraging for seeds and fungi, and their…