Quenda - Southern Brown Bandicoot

Description:

The southern brown bandicoot or 'quenda' has yellowish brown or dark greyish, coarse hair on its back, tending to creamy white underneath. Its short tapered tail and the top of its feet are a darker brown. It is a stocky animal with small rounded ears and a longish conical snout. It is approximately 300mm long plus about 100mm of tail, and weighs 500 – 1500gm, with the males being slightly heavier than the females.

Habitat:

The quenda is found in wet or dry schlerophyll forest through to open woodland and scrubby vegetation on sandy soils. Dense undergrowth and low ground cover are important in providing cover for the quenda. The quenda's diet consists of earthworms, other invertebrates, fungi and subterranean plant material, which it digs up using its powerful forearms and claws. It is nocturnal and lives in a nest constructed of grass and other plant material mixed with earth.

Notes:

This Quenda along with others was caught in a trapping programme at a new development. It was microchipped and released into a new habitat.