Description: Southwestern Brown Bandicoots (Quenda) are small marsupials with a long, pointed muzzle filled with small, sharpish teeth used to crunch on fungi, roots and insects. They have a stocky body with strong forelimbs to dig in the soil and their elongated snout roots in the earth or probes into crevices for snacks. They mostly forage at dusk or overnight but can be seen during the day in places with few predators.

Diet: Omnivore. Forages for plant roots, tubers, fungi, grubs, insects, spiders.
Quenda eat fungi which play a key role in helping native vegetation absorb water and nutrient. The fungi spores survive in their droppings and get dispersed around the bush. One tiny scat was found to have 100 types of fungi spore in it – that’s some very efficient fungal dispersal!

In the Wild: Quenda prefer the protection of dense cover up to one metre high and emerge to feed on adjacent clearings. Often found near wetlands. Males are territorial and aggressive toward rivals of their own species. Fighting results in lost tails and torn ears. They breed all year but particularly in spring. The backwards opening pouch of the female helps keep the pouch young clean while she digs for food.

Threats: Quenda are one of the few native marsupials that can still be seen in Perth’s urban bushland. They are vulnerable to predation (feral foxes, cats and dogs) and car strikes but conservation programs have shown that bandicoot populations can recover where predators are controlled.