Bandicoot sightings

The Strath Creek Landcare Group has just taken possession of a preserved (sounds better than stuffed!) specimen of a Long-nosed Bandicoot (Perameles nasuta) that will be available for display locally, alongside an existing Brush-tailed Phascogale specimen. These exhibits have great educational and general interest value, as many people have never had a chance to see these delightful little creatures alive in the wild. The collection and taxidermy of the road-kill bandicoot was done under a Wildlife Permit held by the Upper Goulburn Landcare Network, a necessary requirement for handling any native wildlife.

Long-nosed Bandicoot

Since mid-2011 there has been a spate of sightings of Long-nosed Bandicoots in the fire-affected areas of Flowerdale, the Kinglake Ranges, Toolangi and Glenburn, as seen on the map below. Many of the sightings were unfortunately road-kills, but live animals have been recorded on remote cameras in several locations, and a number of previous posts on this blog have been about the bandicoots (to view, just type ‘Long-nosed Bandicoot’ in the SEARCH THIS SITE … box at right). The Flowerdale sightings are significant as, according to DEPI’s Victorian Biodiversity Atlas, prior to the recent sightings the bandicoot had not been recorded in Flowerdale. The nearest sighting was in the Wallaby Creek catchment area of Kinglake National Park in 1975.

Long-nosed Bandicoot records since August 2011

Long-nosed Bandicoot digging

The latest sighting was along a creekline at Flowerdale on one of the sites of the Strath Creek Biodiversity Project where tell-tale diggings had been spotted by Project Officer Steve Joblin and Landcare Coordinator Chris Cobern, who confirmed the bandicoot’s presence with a remote camera image (see below). The Long-nosed Bandicoot is thought to be omnivorous and digs with its forelegs for insects and their larvae, succulent plant material and fungi. Typical bandicoot digging is shown at right  (sorry Chris, didn’t have a coin for size comparison, but the clover leaves give you an idea) – the hole can be compared with an echidna’s in a recent post Whodunnit ?