SPECIES: Perameles gunnii — Eastern Barred Bandicoot
CLASSIFICATION: Endangered
The Eastern Barred Bandicoot is named after the three or four distinctive white bars of fur across it's back end. It is one of the three species of bandicoot and is native to Tasmania and Victoria. Dire for the species, it's now considered extinct in the wild on the mainland of Australia. It is estimated that there is now only between 150-250 in three reintroduced populations remaining. As is so often the case with small native marsupials, the biggest threats facing the species are predation by foxes and cats and also habitat loss.
FAME's latest project, Securing a future for the Eastern Bettong (and its friends) will also help the Eastern Barred Bandicoot, as a collateral beneficiary species. For more info, visit the project page.