| Southern Brown Bandicoot Strategic Management Plan for the former Koo Wee Rup Swamp Area. | | At the time of European settlement, bandicoots were common throughout Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula (Coates et al. 2008). Historic records of Southern Brown Bandicoots in the Koo Wee Rup Swamp area indicate that the species was primarily distributed within the outer swamp region and the grassland areas of the Koo Wee Rup Swamp complex. The species has recently been recorded along the South Gippsland Railway line in Tooradin and on Ballarto Road, Cardinia, and immediately north of the former swamp at Bunyip. During the 1970s, bandicoots were also recorded in Bayles, after drainage of the swamp had been completed.
However these populations have been in steady decline ever since the drainage of the swamp, and the clearing of native vegetation and the development that followed. Current populations are restricted to patches of remnant and exotic vegetation in reserves, along waterways, railways, roadsides and on private property.
Current threats to the bandicoot include the continued expansion of development, predation, clearing of native vegetation, isolation, disruption to movement.
The plan was produced by Ecology Australia, on behalf of Cardinia Shire Council, City of Casey and Melbourne Water, with the input of a technical advisory group consisting of the three bodies, and other management agencies, such as the Department of Sustainability and Environment, the Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne, Cardinia Environment Coalition, and the Mornington Peninsula and Western Port Biosphere Reserve Foundation, and various community groups.
This management plan has been developed to ensure the long term viability of the species and its habitat in the former Koo Wee Rup Swamp area.
To read the management plan please download the report below. All figures have been extracted from the document and appear as separate links on this page.
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 | Southern Brown Bandicoot Strategic Management Plan (pdf, 1.2Mb) | | Figure 1 (pdf, 0.4Mb) | | Figure 2 (pdf, 1.1Mb) | | Figure 3 (pdf, 1.7Mb) | | Figure 4 (pdf, 1.5Mb) | | Figure 5 (pdf, 1.6Mb) | | Figure 6 (pdf, 1.9Mb) | | Figure 7 (pdf, 2.0Mb) | | Figure 8 (pdf, 1.1Mb) | | Figure 9 (pdf, 1.3Mb)
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| What can I do? |
| Practice responsible pet ownership, including de-sexing pets. | | Remove weeds from your property, and replace with indigenous plants. | | Protect and increase remnant vegetation on your property. | | Become a Biosphere Bandicoot Buddy.
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