Southern Brown Bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus) lives in eastern coastal forests across Southeastern Australia. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Fascinating facts about the Southern Brown Bandicoot
- A single southern brown bandicoot can move roughly 3.9 tonnes of soil each year, and it also turns over about 10 kg of earth every day while foraging. This constant digging aerates the ground, mixes organic matter, and creates seed-beds, making the ecosystem more productive and helping plants germinate in otherwise compacted soils.
- Bandicoots can breed up to four times a year, with gestation lasting as little as twelve days and litters of two to three joeys (up to five have been reported). Newborns weigh just 350 mg, stay in the pouch for about 53 days and are weaned at around 60 days. Females reach sexual maturity at four to five months, males at six to seven months, yet wild individuals rarely live beyond four years.
- Although the IUCN lists the southern brown bandicoot as Least Concern, its numbers have dropped sharply since European settlement, with many local populations now fragmented or rare. Introduced predators like red foxes and feral cats are major threats, prompting re-introductions such as at Wadderin Sanctuary, 300 km (190 mi) east of Perth, where predator control gives the species a fighting chance.
- Males stretch to about 50 cm (20 in) long and can tip the scales at 1.2 kg (2.6 lb), while females stay shorter at 40 cm (16 in) and lighter, never exceeding 1 kg (2.2 lb). Their tails add another 13 cm (5.1 in) of brown-above, white-below length.
- Each bandicoot guards its own patch of land, with home ranges that can span 1 to 5 hectares (2.5 to 12.4 acres) and rarely overlap. Males may claim up to seven hectares, while females usually stick to one to three hectares.
Sources
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At a glance
RangeSoutheastern Australia
HabitatEastern coastal forests
DietInsects and worms
About the Southern Brown Bandicoot
In the moonlit underbrush, the Southern Brown Bandicoot emerges as a whirlwind of energy, its stout body darting with agile urgency as it snuffles out insects and small invertebrates with an insatiable hunger. With each swift, rabbit-like bound, it covers great distances, its powerful hind legs propelling it through the leaf litter with a quiet efficiency that belies its endearing, somewhat awkward appearance. As it forages, its large, round ears twitch with an almost comical sensitivity, drinking in the subtlest sounds of its nocturnal world.
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