The endangered Shark Bay Bandicoot was flown 3,000 kilometres from Western Australia and reintroduced to the Pilliga State Conservation Area on Gamilaroi Country in north-western New South Wales two years ago. 

The reintroduction, conducted in August 2023 by Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) in partnership with the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, is part of a program to return at least six regionally extinct mammal species to a 5,800-hectare feral predator-free enclosure. 

A Shark Bay Bandicoot is released into the Pilliga (Image: Australian Wildlife Conservancy)

Ecologists monitoring the species recently captured an exciting image of a female bandicoot with three young at foot. Maisie Duffin, AWC Field Ecologist said the bandicoot family portrait is just one of many signs that the population is settling in well. 

“It definitely made our day seeing the photo of the three young bandicoots scurrying to keep up with their mum,” Maisie said in a press release.  

“We were sifting through thousands of motion sensor camera images when we came across that gem.”  

A total of 66 Shark Bay Bandicoots, also known as Western Barred Bandicoots or Marl, were part of the initial group released into the Pilliga. Prior to their arrival, the species had been absent from the wild in north-western NSW for over 150 years due to predation by introduced species like cats and foxes. 

Ecologists will continue to monitor the bandicoots in the years ahead to track their progress. With motion-sensor cameras now permanently deployed throughout the fenced area, the team hopes to capture even more glimpses of this rare and resilient marsupial thriving in its new home.  

Photo credits to Hayley Charlton-Howard and Australian Wildlife Conservancy.

Planet Ark does not take responsibility for the accuracy of the original information and encourages readers to check the references before using this information for their own purposes.