Status of the Barred Bandicoot, Perameles Gunnii, in Victoria: With a Note on Husbandry of a Captive Colony.

Abstract

Barred or Gunn's bandicoot (Perameles gunnii), formerly widely distributed in Victoria, Australia, is now restricted to the western basalt plains around the city of Hamilton. A small captive colony was begun in 1972 near Geelong. The bandicoots were fed on commercial dog food [dried pellets?] with some sunflower seed or chopped apple occasionally and they obtained other food from the soil. They required fairly large outdoor enclosures and only 1 pair could be kept in a 0.07-ha pen. Notes are given on frequency of litters. Bandicoots in Tasmania are known to eat crickets (Gryllus servellei), moths and larvae of coleoptera and lepidoptera; crickets, pasture grubs and moths were mostly available in autumn and the abundance of food then may stimulate winter breeding. Breeding bandicoots for release to the wild would require money and effort, and it was doubtful whether a wild population could be established. It might be possible to develop methods of land management to provide suitable habitat for bandicoots, but there was little public interest; community education in Hamilton was needed.