Do you live in our local area (Sydney’s Inner-West)? If so, you may have seen something brown and furry scuttling through your backyard. It looked like a rat – but couldn’t have been, as it was way too big…What you may have seen is a member of a thriving local population of Bandicoots!

Bandi-whats? You ask… Yep, Bandicoots!

The Long-nosed Bandicoot (Perameles nasuta) is making a comeback – right in our own backyards. This rarely seen marsupial is shocking the hardiest of people, by showing up in the unlikeliest of places. Whilst they look a little like rats, they couldn’t be more different. Bandicoots are a native carnivorous marsupial (pouched mammal). These special creatures have been under enormous environmental duress, owing to habitat destruction, predation by cats, dogs and foxes, and of course – mistaken identity!

So how can you help keep these amazing animals thriving?

First and foremost, if you see what you think is a feral rat, look more closely. Bandicoots have a much longer nose, for starters. They have a creamy white contrast to their brown coat over their forelimbs, hindlimbs and underbelly. Adult Bandicoots are much larger than rats, attaining sizes similar to adult rabbits. Their ears are more elongate and pointy than rats’ ears, too.

Next, you can help the bandicoots by not using some of the more common rat-eradication techniques – poison and snap-traps. If you think you have a rat problem, there are plenty of different humane traps available, which trap the animal alive. You can then assess whether or not it is a rat. Poison and snap-traps will kill first – and ask questions later. This is not in our protected wildlife’s best interests.

Lastly, pets can sometimes attack these small creatures. You can offer them protection in the garden, with dense native plantings, rocks, cubby-holes, hides, etc.

Of course, if you happen upon a sick or injured Bandicoot, please do not hesitate to bring it to us for treatment.

We can co-exist with our wild treasures. Always do all you can to nurture and protect them. If you wish to know more about how you can help encourage native animals to thrive, you can learn some wonderful things from WIRES – http://www.wires.org.au.