Imma Perfetto
Cosmos science journalist
The Top 10 has been decided! Ensure your favourite makes it to the next round by voting here.
The time has come for our final update on the category leader boards for 2023’s Australian Mammal of the Year competition, before voting closes next week on Wednesday 9 August.
Already, more than 14,000 votes have been cast across the 8 categories and some clear favourites have all but secured their coveted spot in the Top 10.
But with days left to go, there’s still time for a major upset among the rankings. Even if your pick of the mammals hasn’t been placing at the top of the leaderboard in the last few weeks, now’s certainly the time for a miraculous comeback! Vote here.
We’ll continue to keep a keen eye out for any excess repeats voting, however, and any culprits will be blocked (in addition to the bad karma points). Get more support for your favourite mammal by encouraging friends, family, colleagues, and even strangers in line at the post office to vote for them.
Here’s how the mammals are faring in the 8 categories – each highlighting the habitat in which you’ll find them burrowing, gliding, hopping or swimming around.
In “Snow Patrol: Alpine Adventurers” the dingo has bounded ahead of the mountain pygmy possum. Could we see a repeat of last year with 2022’s runner-up making the Top 10 once again? The mountain brushtail possum and bush rat are keeping each other company at the bottom of the ladder. Perhaps they’ll see an unexpected upswell of support in the final days?
The greater bilby is still hopping along ahead of its competitors in “Just Deserts: Some Like It Hot”, while the brush-tailed bettong might be too busy digging for truffles to make up the distance.
The dugong is having a fin-tastic time in “Under the Sea: Marine Marvels”, torpedoing to the top spot with the greatest share of the vote. Might the dugong get a second chance to place higher this year after coming in 7th in 2022?
One of the “Savanna Scurriers”, the ghost bat, is using almost supernatural abilities to scare away the rest of the competition. The common rock rat, meanwhile, is stone cold on its lonesome at the back of the pack.
The spectacled flying-fox continues its first-place swoop in “Tropical Rainforest Ramblers”, a spectacular effort for a mammal not even nominated in last year’s competition. Another rambling newcomer, the musky-rat kangaroo, isn’t having the same luck, but the next few days could see its fortunes turn.
Dominating the “City Livin’: Urban Neighbours” category, the (male) platypus might be using its venomous spurs to take out its rivals. Platypus placed 6th in last year’s competition and could be heading for the Top 10 again, while another iconic Australian, the eastern grey kangaroo, lags behind significantly.
The golden-tipped bat continues to hold the gold-medal spot in the “The Cool South: Forest Fossickers”, while it seems the southern long-nosed bandicoot will have to settle for a participation award.
Gilbert’s potoroo is still sitting pretty above the rest of the “Woodland Wanderers”. After coming in 5th place in 2022, could they finish a little higher this year? 2022’s Mammal of the Year, the southern bent-wing bat, would need a miracle to make the top ten again.
Just a reminder, voting within the categories will close at 11:59pm AEST next Wednesday 9 August. We’ll then tally the votes to find the top voted mammal in each of the 8 categories, plus the 2 next highest voted across all categories, to determine the final 10.
Daily rounds to knock the mammal with the least votes out of the competition will commence on Monday 14 August. The 2023 Australian Mammal of the Year will be announced on Thursday 24 August.
Voting for Australian Mammal of the Year is still open!
Visit our voting page here to learn more about the categories and to vote for your picks for Australian Mammal of the Year.