Facts about Eastern Barred Bandicoot
- 09
Approximately 95 percent of the Eastern Barred Bandicoot's diet consists of invertebrates like beetle larvae and earthworms found by digging cone-shaped burrows in soil.
- 08
Prehensile tail movements help Eastern Barred Bandicoots maintain balance while digging, with their tail comprising approximately 40 percent of their total body length.
- 07
Their distinctive conical-shaped burrows, typically 10 to 15 centimeters in diameter, serve as shelter and are used for breeding and daytime refuge by Eastern Barred Bandicoots.
- 06
Specialized elongated snouts allow Eastern Barred Bandicoots to probe deep into soil and leaf litter to extract invertebrates with precision.
- 05
Mothers give birth to litters of three to four young after a gestation period of just 12 to 13 days, among the shortest for any marsupial species.
- 04
Successful reintroduction programs have restored Eastern Barred Bandicoot populations to mainland Victoria since the early 2000s, reversing their extinction status from 1989.
- 03
Nocturnal foraging behavior allows Eastern Barred Bandicoots to hunt for insects, grubs, and small vertebrates during night hours when predation risk decreases.
- 02
In 1989, Eastern Barred Bandicoots were declared extinct in the wild, with only a small population surviving on Badger Island off Victoria's coast.
- 01
Weighing only 0.5 to 2.5 kilograms, the Eastern Barred Bandicoot is one of Australia's smallest marsupials with distinctive white stripes across its rump.