I had some great news when I woke up this morning, the snow had pretty much vanished due to the overnight rain.  I am not going to lie, I was quite happy to have winter postponed for a little bit.  Unfortunately, Mother Nature is cruel and decided only to postpone winter for a few hours.  The snow was back by lunch and it has been snowing since.  This is my way of saying that we are heading to Australia today to learn about the Bandicoot.  It is unfortunate that Wild Facts is my only reprieve from the nasty winter weather. I am going to go and pack up my shorts and then we are headed to the sunny south.

The Bandicoot is a small marsupial found throughout Australia.  I am starting to think that every animal in Australia is a marsupial.  For the new readers, a marsupial, is an animal that puts their young into a pouch with the most famous example being the kangaroo.  Anyway, back to this tiny critter of the south.  Some of you may not find the Bandicoot that cute (or should I say “Coot”) since it has a sort-of rat-like appearance.   Don’t let this rodent appearance fool you though since this little marsupial is more closely related to rabbits than rats.

Pregnant women everywhere are going to be envious of this next little fact.  The Bandicoot has one of the shortest gestation periods of all mammals, giving birth only 12 days after conception.  Just imagine only being pregnant for two weeks.  Heck, that isn’t even long enough to finish your Lamaze Classes.  Once the babies are born though the Bandicoot will keep them in her pouch until they are strong enough to survive the harsh world on their own.

Unfortunately, 7 of the 11 Bandicoot species are facing some tough times right now and are classed as either critically endangered or extinct.  Not exactly the lists I would want to be on.  The usual culprits are causing this rapid decline in Bandicoot populations including habitat destruction and introduction of exotic animals.  Originally these little critters only had to be on the look out for owls, quolls and dingos.  Since the European settlers arrived they also have to worry about foxes, dogs and house cats.

Well that is the “Crash” course on Bandicoots so I hope you enjoyed our little trip to the beautiful island of Australia.  I assume not everyone will understand the “Crash” pun but if you have kids than you most likely know who Crash Bandicoot is.  Have a great day!!