The nest
is above the ground in a shallow hole lined with grass and leaves,
which is scraped together with its forelegs. The upper surface of
the nest is partly covered by soil and well concealed with debris.
When the nest is occupied the entrance is well hidden. They may
also use hollow logs on the ground. It is interesting just how many
of our native animals make use of hollow logs for shelter and nesting,
considering how long it can take for a tree to develop hollows,
let us make sure we leave the old trees alone so the species that
need these hollows can continue to exist.
Gestation is 12 1/2 days, the shortest gestation
period of any marsupial. 2-7 young are born weighing 25 gram and
13 mm long, the tiny bandicoots make their way to the pouch whilst
still attached to the umbilical cord until such time as they are
securely attached to one of 8 teats. Normally only 3-4 young are
raised, this is due to the fact that mum may breed again as soon
as the young vacate the pouch, the teats that the young used are
now too large for the newly born young to attach to, thus 2 successive
litters will use alternate teats. 
The young stay in the pouch for 60days, and
become independent at about 4 months of age. The pouch is backward
opening; just as well as the little ones would otherwise be covered
in dirt when mum digs for food at night, it also makes the journey
short when they have to make that first trip to the pouch after
birth. There are 2 species of Bandicoots in the Northern Rivers
area, the Northern Brown, and the Long Nosed Bandicoot.
The Long Nosed is smaller than the Northern
Brown, and like its name suggests it has a very long nose. The hind
limbs of both species resemble that of the macropods, the thigh
is powerful, foot elongate and the second and third toe is joined.
The hind limbs can be used for leaping, but the usual fast movement
is like a gallop.
Bandicoots dig cone shaped holes in the ground looking for worms,
insects and roots. I have heard many complain about the holes dug
in the garden by these interesting creatures, but if you consider
that they are at the same time getting rid of many pests, maybe
we should be thankful for their assistance.
They have a home range of 1-6 hectares, however,
they tend to roam over a comparatively small range, often staying
within half a hectare of their nests and can live for up to 3 years.
Although some people associate bandicoots with ticks, this may be
because humans tend to pick up ticks most easily in long grass or
thick scrub – which also happens to be the type of habitat
favoured by bandicoots.
Their main predators are dogs, cats, foxes python snakes, and the
ferocious car of course.
We often see a dead Bandicoot on the road, please stop if it is
safe to do so and check, if it is a female there may be young in the pouch, if this is the case, wrap the female in something
like a towel or whatever you may have in the car, or put her in
a box, and call WIRES or your nearest wildlife care organisation
as soon as possible
Images by Alison Deahm & Susanne Ulyatt
