The Western Barred Bandicoot
Photo Credit: Babs Wells / gettyimages.com
Like many of the unusual animals in
Australia, the bandicoot is a marsupial,
which means it has a pouch. However, the
bandicoot’s pouch faces backwards. Yes, that is strange, but there’s a good
reason for it. Bandicoots are burrowers. They dig and live in holes in the ground,
where they build a nest. So, if they were building their nest and their pouch opening faced up, they would get all kinds of dirt and rocks in their pouch. Mama bandicoot does not want her babies dirty. Mother Nature
has therefore provided her with a solution—a backwards pouch. Incredible,
isn’t it!
Bandicoots are small (only about four pounds), and they have
light brown-grey fur. Three bars of fur alternating paler and darker
in color, on their hindquarters, have given them their name. All bandicoots have pointy
snouts and large ears. The tail is very long, making up approximately one-third
of its total length.
They are nocturnal creatures,
spending most of the daytime sleeping in their nests. They will meet up with
another bandicoot for mating, and they have one of the shortest gestation
periods of all mammals, just twelve days. The babes stay in their mother’s
pouch to develop for forty-five to sixty days, and after that time, they simply
go their own way.
Bandicoots are omnivorous. This means
that they will eat just about anything, including insects, roots, herbs, and
small invertebrates they may find while digging.
At one time, they inhabited much of
southern and western Australia. Now, they have lost most of that range. They were
actually thought to have been extinct. The decline in numbers is due mostly to
predation from fox and feral cats, which were introduced to, but are not native
to Australia.
Combined with human encroachment, the Western Barred Bandicoot’s
populations continued to decline, and they are now considered endangered. You
can see the two tiny spots on the map where this marsupial now lives.
There are a number of conservation
programs in place, and efforts are being made both to study and re-introduce
bandicoots back to their previous mainland areas. Knowing how dedicated the
Australian people are to preserving their unique wildlife, I am certain that
they will succeed.
If you would like to explore and
learn more about this Australian creature, click on the following links:
I have also added a link to a video
for you. Although the young lady in this video is discussing the Eastern Barred
Bandicoot, the information is very similar to the Western Barred Bandicoot as
the Eastern species is endangered as well, and also looks very much like the
Western species.
I do hope that you enjoyed reading
about this unusual marsupial!
Please return again, and feel free to
leave a comment.
Enjoy!
Jeanne
E. Rogers, Award Winning Author
The Sword of Demelza and The Gift of Sunderland
Middle
Grade Fantasy Where Endangered Animal Heroes Roam the Pages!
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