Last month we had a very special student group join us for a couple weeks of bandicooting and platypus work. As an alumni of The University of Adelaide , Dr Alex was very excited to welcome these final year vet students and Dr Wayne Boardman to get a taste of wildlife medicine in beautiful Tasmania. The students made this fantastic video to memorialize their time here, and have generously allowed us to share it here with you all
One of our vets managed to capture this footage of an Eastern Barred Bandicoot foraging for food in a local park. Although bandicoot are omnivorous and will eat most things, their absolute favourite food is bugs! We hope this little one found a tasty grub or two for dinner
No it’s not a horror movie! This Eastern Barred Bandicoot has babies on board
No this isn’t an iconic scene from the movie ‘Alien’
No this isn't a scene from the iconic movie Alien!
This Eastern Barred Bandicoot has a pouch full of healthy young bandicoot babies. With three or four young in the pouch, they can really get quite active in there.
After a quick health check, mum was safely released back into the wild with her precious load
Vet Student Trip Platypus Emu Valley
Thanks again the the students from Murdoch University and the Emu Valley Rhododendron Garden. Great to see happy, healthy platypus thriving in the beautiful gardens.
We love collaborating with other scientists and organisations whenever possible, there is so much to learn from each other. Thanks to University of Tasmania for working with us on this project and producing this excellent video, and ongoing thanks to the Murdoch Conservation Medicine Program for their continued support.
Introducing the Southern Brown Bandicoot.
No this isn't a big rat! Native to southern regions of Australia, the Southern Brown Bandicoot are easily overlooked as they lack the distinctive stripes of their barred cousins. They are also slightly more elusive, preferring areas with thicker ground cover. Their digging aerates soil and leaf litter, aiding in distribution of nutrients and hence plant growth. Because of this bandicoot are commonly referred to as 'ecosystem engineers'
This is a male Eastern Barred Bandicoot getting released back into the shelterbelt from which it was trapped in. We love seeing native shelterbelts in properties as they provide countless benefits, not only to our Tasmanian wildlife but also protecting crops, soil health, and livestock. For bandicoot the ground cover protects them from predators and gives them places to sleep during the day. They also harbour insects and grubs the bandicoot can feed on, and provide important links between larger areas of bush so that wildlife can move safely through the countryside. If you want to learn more, we recommend checking out resources on the websites of Landcare Tasmania, north west environment centre, Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania and NRM North
Introducing the Eastern Barred Bandicoot, one of the special animals we study.
Whilst their distinctive long pointy noses and striped backends are a common site in Tasmanian gardens, did you know they were at the brink of extinction on the mainland? Declared extinct in the wild after 99% loss of habitat and pressure by introduced predators such as foxes, they were down to just a few individuals and have only been reintroduced after hard work by Zoos Victoria biologists and intensive breeding programs.
By collecting information on our healthy Tasmanian populations we can help their reintroduction into Victorian bush and hopefully our mainland friends and family will be able to enjoy spotting them hopping around sometime in the future!
#tasmania #wildlifevets #northwesttasmania #easternbarredbandicoot #australianwildlife #ConservationBiology #bandicoot #tasmanianwildlife
