Fun Bandicoot Facts For Kids

The bandicoot or Peramelemorphia are solitary marsupials and omnivores. The species of bandicoot are highly active and have a unique style of running termed as a 'gallop'.

At night these bandicoots forage to get the smell of food with the help of their sensitive noses. With the help of their long nose, they can dig out the underground easily.

They mostly forage for food during the nighttime. Bandicoots leave small conical holes while they forage for food, insects, and bugs, and these holes are called snout pokes as they prick them with their snout.

The bandicoot is small in size, and these species do not have much physical strength, so they become natural prey animals for snakes, owls, and other large birds. Over the years, they have been playing a vital role in the ecology system of the environment.

They turn over the soil, which helps to increase the rate of decomposition, production of soil, and nutrient cycling. Bandicoots help to disperse fungi spores, so the extinction of the bandicoot would have a cascading effect on the diversity of plants.

To know more about the fascinating bandicoot, we have gathered a set of interesting facts about it for you to read. You can also read our articles on water vole and field vole facts.

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Bandicoot Interesting Facts

What type of animals are bandicoots?

Bandicoots are confused with rodents, but they are small marsupials.

What class of animal do bandicoots belong to?

Bandicoots belong to the mammal class of animals and are in the order Peramelemorphia.

How many bandicoots are there in the world?

The species of bandicoot remains endangered, and the number is estimated between 300 and 400 animals.

Where do bandicoots live?

Bandicoots live in the rainforest, starting from wet to dry. They can also be found in the terrestrial region. They are easily found in New Guinea and Australia.

What is a bandicoot's habitat?

The bandicoots occupy a diverse range of the habitat, including the terrestrial region, wetlands, grasslands, desert, and rainforest, at different elevation points. Bandicoots quickly adapt to the environment of humans.

Sometimes the vehicles, buildings, and other man-made objects provide sufficient hiding space for these tiny animals. Their habitat ranges from dense vegetation to shelter during the day and at night can be found in open areas searching for food. The eastern barred bandicoot is found in Tasmania and the desert bandicoot is now extinct.

Who do bandicoots live with?

Bandicoots are highly active in foraging but they prefer being and hunting alone. They unite with their mates only during the breeding season. They prefer living alone in nests that are usually closer to a water source.

How long do bandicoots live?

A bandicoot has a life span of two to four years.

How do they reproduce?

The bandicoot's behavior when it comes to reproduction is uncertain. The breeding season of this species takes place all throughout the year.

However, the breeding time of the species differs from animal to animal. During the entire breeding season, it is believed that the males and females can have several mating partners, also known as polygamy.

This ensures that the bandicoot has a higher rate of reproduction to check and avoid the high rates of deaths that often take place with baby bandicoots.

In their habitat, the partners spend less time together as, after copulation, the male bandicoot usually moves away. The female bandicoot raises the young bandicoots on her own.

The litter size of the bandicoot ranges from one to four young ones. A female bandicoot can produce any place they want. The period of gestation lasts the shortest as of any marsupial that is 12-15 days.

Only while breeding do bandicoots mix with all other bandicoots. Between late May and December, the young are born. When the females are of around three months, they start breeding.

During the breeding season, a female can produce three to four liters. In one season of breeding, the female bandicoot has the capacity of producing 16 young ones. For around 55 days, the young one stays in the pouch of the mother as a bandicoot is a marsupial.

What is their conservation status?

The bandicoots are mainly found on the Australian eastern coast. Certain different species of bandicoots have now become endangered or extinct and have been listed as such as per the list of the International Union For Conservation of Nature, IUCN. However, many are also listed in the Least Concern classification.

Bandicoot Fun Facts

What do bandicoots look like?

For the different species, the size of the bandicoot differs. The size of the males is larger in comparison to the females. The color of the bandicoots is usually light grayish-brown. For foraging in soil, the bandicoots have a long slender nose. Their coat is usually sleek and prickly-haired, and they have a tail of fur.

In comparison to the front legs, their hind legs are relatively longer. They are responsible for carrying the weight of most of the animals.

Their hindfoot is similar to that of a kangaroo. Their toes have long, sharp claws, which help dig the soil. These long-nosed species have outstanding hearing and eyesight, and so they can also release a high-pitched and sharp squeak while foraging for food.

How cute are they?

The size of these bandicoots is small, and the fur and tail make these marsupials look cute.

How do they communicate?

The process of communication between the long-nosed bandicoots is a simple one. Like other mammals, they also use vocal, visual and other forms of chemical communication.

How big are bandicoots?

The long-nosed bandicoot is around 12-17 in or 31–43 cm in size. Because of the immense diversity, the bandicoot has a large range of different types of body sizes.

They are 12-31 in or 30-80 cm in length which is increased when the length of the tail that is 4-12 in long is added. The size of males is often perceived as twice the size of females. In other aspects, both the genders are identical in appearances.

How fast can bandicoots run?

A bandicoot can travel super fast. They travel at speeds of up to 15 mph or 24.1 kmph.

How much do bandicoots weigh?

Bandicoots weight is 0.4-3.5 lb.

What are their male and female names of the species?

There is no particular terminology that differentiates male and female bandicoots.

What would you call a baby bandicoot?

A baby bandicoot is called a joey.

What do they eat?

Bandicoots are responsible for eating all the underground food, although they won't go past insects and even berries found on the ground either. With the help of the sensitive nose, they are able to detect worms, roots, and fungi. Once they find a food item, they scoop out a hole with their claws and snouts to get it.

Are they aggressive?

The bandicoot is a territorial animal and can turn out to be aggressive sometimes. Any aggression is generally directed at rivals as they cross each other's territory.

Would they make a good pet?

Bandicoots have now become endangered species that are natives of Australia. It is unauthorized to trap or kill marsupial. The rules for keeping bandicoots in captivity may vary according to different states and their laws. The nocturnal, terrestrial, and timid nature of bandicoots symbolizes that they would not make a good pet.

Did you know...

There are around more than 20 known species of bandicoots. From the South Indian language of Telugu, the name of the animal, 'bandicoot' comes from translating the word pandi-kokku, which means pig-rat. The term was initially used for a rat or an irrelevant group of rodents in India.

In 1996, after the popular video game Crash Bandicoot was released for the Sony PlayStation, the bandicoot entered the public consciousness. The crash, an eastern barred bandicoot has been genetically transformed into Mario or Sonic that has been placed as an edgy mascot with superpowers.

Like all the other marsupials, the bandicoot is one of the animals that carry the young one in their specialized pouch for the first few weeks of life. However, they give us a notable difference. This pouch is facing backward instead of forward, as it helps them prevent dirt from entering when they are digging the ground.

The survival of the bandicoots is threatened by herbivores, like rabbits and deer. In the direct competition for food and habitat, bandicoots are getting extinct.

Owing to their evolutionary adaptations, the long-nosed bandicoots have the special ability to switch between different modes of movement. Like a kangaroo, they can hop around on the hind legs or walk on all four legs. For the process of grooming, the hind limb acts as a useful instrument.

The bandicoot is often confused with the bilby, a different kind of marsupial.

Can bandicoots swim?

Some other marsupials like water opossum or yapok of South America are excellent swimmers. They live in natural marshes and Euphrates rivers in southeastern Iraq, and above the water level, they build their nests on reed platforms. Bandicoots are not really known to swim, however.

Where are bandicoots found in Australia?

The long-nosed Australian bandicoot is found along the east coast of Australia, starting from northern Queensland to northern Victoria and northern Tasmania, Australia. As far south as NSW, the coastline of northern and eastern Australia has all the northern brown bandicoots. Bandicoots are also found in southern Papua New Guinea.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other mammals, including marsupial, or agouti.

You can even occupy yourself at home by drawing one on our Bandicoot coloring pages.