Rare Sighting of Eyeless Northern Marsupial Mole in Australian Desert Baffles Wildlife Experts

If you ever stumble upon a northern marsupial mole, also known as kakarratul among the First Nations peoples in the Western Desert of Australia, you are in for a surprise. Despite being eyeless and adorned with shaggy golden fur, this terrestrial creature measures merely four inches from nose to tail, fitting snugly in the palm of a hand. Distinct from the mole species of North America, it belongs to the marsupial family.

Despite their abundance, sightings of the northern marsupial mole remain incredibly rare due to their subterranean lifestyle. These creatures reside in tunnels beneath the sand dunes, propelling through them using a swimming-like motion with their flipper-like front feet.

Indigenous ranger Denzel Hunter, dedicated to surveying and conserving wildlife in the lands of the Nyangumarta people, expressed, “This is the hardest of all the animals to find. Every time we go out looking for northern marsupial moles, we find evidence that they’re there. But I’ve never seen one.”

New Discoveries

Recently, Kanyirninpa Jukurrpa Martu rangers encountered a kakarratul in the Great Sandy Desert, located nearly 1,000 miles northeast of Perth. This discovery, captured in photographs, has significantly expanded scientific knowledge about the species and the broader desert regions, which collectively constitute close to one-third of Australia’s land mass. Notably, the creature has only been sighted a handful of times over the past decade.