A small Australian marsupial that looks like it’s built for rummaging. Its most obvious feature is the narrow, elongated snout, which it uses like a living probe to sniff out food hidden under leaves and soil. The body is compact and slightly hunched, with strong back legs for quick bursts of movement, smaller front legs for digging, and a short tail that plays little role in balancing. Its fur is usually a rough mix of gray and brown, which helps it blend into leaf litter, garden mulch, and forest floor shadows.

Instead of climbing or hopping like many marsupials, it spends a lot of time foraging in soil, using its snout and forefeet to make small cone-shaped holes as it searches for insects, grubs, worms, and other underground snacks. These little digs are so common that people sometimes notice the holes before they ever see the animal. Compared with rodents that gnaw and nibble, the long-nosed bandicoot is more of a soil-foraging hunter—sniffing, digging, and pulling up prey that most animals can’t reach. It also has a very different family style from pouch marsupials like kangaroos: bandicoots have a pouch that opens backward, which helps keep dirt out while the mother is digging.

Its daily routine is mostly nocturnal, so it often comes out after sunset to feed. In bushland, it moves through dense ground cover, and in suburbs, it can quietly patrol gardens, compost areas, and leaf piles, especially where soil stays soft. It usually nests during the day in a hidden, grassy shelter—often a dome-shaped nest made from dry grass and leaves tucked under shrubs or among dense plants. When startled, it can sprint into cover surprisingly fast, relying on speed and hiding rather than fighting. Even though it’s small, it’s tough enough to survive in changing landscapes as long as there’s food and shelter, which is why it sometimes lives close to people.

Distribution

Country

Population est.

Status

Year

Comments

Australia

2015

Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland