# Southern Brown Bandicoot

*Isoodon obesulus*

A single Southern Brown Bandicoot can excavate up to 3.9 tonnes of soil annually, acting as an essential ecosystem engineer by aerating the ground.

- **Taxonomy:** Animalia › Chordata › Mammalia › Peramelemorphia › Peramelidae › Isoodon
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** decreasing
- **Biome:** forest
- **Habitat:** Dry sclerophyll forests, woodlands, and heathlands with dense understory vegetation.
- **Diet:** Omnivorous, feeding on insects, earthworms, fungi, plant tubers, and seeds.
- **Range:** Southern Australia, Tasmania, Kangaroo Island
- **Size:** Body length of 28-36 cm, tail length of 9-14 cm, weighing between 400-1600 grams.
- **Lifespan:** 2 to 3 years in the wild
- **Active:** nocturnal
- **Threats:** Habitat fragmentation, land clearing, and predation by introduced feral cats and red foxes.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless and shy. If encountered, maintain a respectful distance of 3-5 meters and do not attempt to touch or corner them, as they have sharp claws used for digging and may scratch in self-defense. If scratched or bitten, wash the wound thoroughly with warm soapy water and seek medical advice to prevent infection.

## About

The southern brown bandicoot ( Isoodon obesulus ) is a short-nosed bandicoot, a type of marsupial, found mostly in southern Australia. It is also known as the quenda in South Western Australia (from the Noongar word kwernt ).

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/8ac52c39-c293-44da-aab9-6e7255baa111
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/43294
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isoodon obesulus
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/293156351/medium.jpg (SJM McFish, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.