Return to the wild

When the eastern barred bandicoot was declared extinct in the wild in 2013, it seemed they would be lost forever. But today, after a lot of setbacks, things are finally looking up for this native creature.

- GENEVIEVE GANNON

Once upon a time, the grassy plains west of Melbourne were hopping with gregarious little marsupials who had long pointed noses and four pale stripes on their hindquarters. Eastern barred bandicoots thrived happily among the tall, golden grass, and as late as the 1960s, residents who lived near the Grampians would see these stripey-bottomed critters nosing around their backyards.

But predators such as foxes and cats, and human encroachment, took a toll on the gentle creatures and by the 1980s their population was in freefall. Many feared they could be lost forever. In 2013, eastern barred bandicoots were declared extinct on mainland Australia.

There was hope, however, in the form of a small colony that had been found taking shelter in rusted car bodies in an old tip. Now, thanks to conservationists’ hard work, innovation and a little science, the story of the eastern barred bandicoot has become a far happier one.

Annette Rypalski manages a predator-free sanctuary at Mt Rothwell, about 50km west of Melbourne, where environmental charity Odonata’s captive breeding program is bringing bandicoots back from the brink, as well as helping to stabilise populations of eastern quolls and southern brush-tailed rock wallabies.

“I love what we’re doing here. I have quite a passion for it and a drive,” she says.

Their bandicoot breeding program is possible thanks to the remarkable survival of that family of 63 bandicoots found among car wrecks in the Hamilton tip in the 1980s. The colony was rescued and taken to the Woodlands wildlife reserve near Melbourne airport to breed a new generation.