Home AG Society Fundraising Eastern barred bandicoot

Eastern barred bandicoot

Image credit: JJ Harrison / Wikimedia / CC BY-SA 3.0

THIS SMALL, NOCTURNAL marsupial is endemic to south-eastern Australia and Tasmania. Once widespread across grasslands and woodlands, the mainland subspecies is now listed as extinct in the wild, due to predation by foxes and habitat loss.

Thanks to the work of Zoos Victoria, there are currently four reintroduced populations protected by predator-barrier fences. The zoo’s Guardian Dog program aims to ensure the survival of these and future populations; it will trial whether bandicoots, protected by trained Maremma guardian dogs, can form self-sustaining populations in areas not enclosed by fences.

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