Have you seen a bandicoot recently?
We're asking residents of the Hills and Fleurieu to log bandicoot sightings via an online portal. The Bandicoot Superhighway project team will use the results to help identify where bandicoots still occur and manage the threats to those populations.
The Bandicoot Superhighway project team is asking the local community to assist them in their search for southern brown bandicoots.
Landscapes Hills and Fleurieu Regional Ecologist Luke Price said the southern brown bandicoot is a threatened species and we are undertaking region-wide surveys to help determine where they still occur. Knowing where they are currently persisting will help with future assessments of the species’ conservation status and likewise help identify and manage threats to those populations.
“Southern brown bandicoots are the only species of bandicoot left in the Mount Lofty Ranges and Fleurieu Peninsula region and are nationally listed as Endangered under the federal government’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.” he said.
“The project team and hardworking volunteers are continuing to look for any signs of bandicoots in their local area, and while there has been a number of recent sightings in parts of the Adelaide Hills, we need the community’s help to see where else in the region they still occur. We are particularly interested in sightings from the Fleurieu area where this species has been less commonly recorded.”
There are historical records of the species from as far south as Deep Creek National Park on the Fleurieu Peninsula to Para Wirra Conservation Park north of Adelaide. Bandicoots can be found in both remnant native bush areas and within more urban and peri-urban areas, where suitable habitat exists. They will utilise both dense native vegetation and non-native vegetation as habitat.
“Bandicoots are small marsupials which carry their young in a pouch. They grow to about the size of a rabbit and are golden brown in colour. They can sometimes be confused with both native and exotic species of rats, however bandicoots have a tail that is shorter than their head and body length, and a large rump, relative to their head size,” said Luke.
Landscapes Hills and Fleurieu and its Bandicoot Superhighway Project partners are seeking help from the community to let us know where they have seen a bandicoot.
Anyone that has seen a bandicoot in the last five years is encouraged to submit their sighting details to the online Bandicoot Superhighway portal. The team is also particularly interested to know if you see a bandicoot over the next few months, to help plan upcoming wildlife camera surveys.
If you see a bandicoot, please submit it the Bandicoot Superhighway portal via the link below. You don’t need a login to add your sighting. Please include a photo if have one as this helps with confirmation of identification.
Visit the Bandicoot Superhighway project webpage for more information and a link to the portal to add sightings. Read our factsheet to identify a bandicoot here.
The Bandicoot Superhighway project is a partnership between the Hills and Fleurieu Landscape Board, Sturt Upper Reaches Landcare Group, Department for Environment and Water, Green Adelaide, University of Adelaide, Friends of Parks, Nature Conservation Society of SA and private landholders.This project is funded by the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife and the Australian Government.
