Phillip Island is famous for its 40,000 little penguins, and now tourists can experience the island’s nocturnal nature party for the first time, with a new Eastern barred bandicoot tour.
Phillip Island Nature Parks will host nightly wildlife experiences on Churchill Island over Easter from 29 to 31 March, giving unique insight into how the endangered Eastern barred bandicoots live and interact in the wild.
It comes after the Nature Parks researchers, as part of a multi-agency recovery effort, helped save the Eastern barred bandicoot from extinction, reintroducing the species to the fox-free safe haven in 2017.
Mark Anderson, General Manager, Tourism at Phillip Island Nature Parks said Phillip Island was home to a strong population of bandicoots, including on Churchill Island, thanks to the dedicated conservation recovery program.
“The Eastern barred bandicoots have now been on Phillip Island for more than six years and since then have bred and grown in numbers, expanding to several parts of the island,” Mr Anderson said.
“This exciting spotlight walk will give members of the community a rare opportunity to observe Eastern barred bandicoots foraging at dark and going about their nightly adventures in the wild, as well as a hands-on role in our conservation efforts.
“Each tour guest will be asked to help count adult and juvenile bandicoots – important data that will be used to further develop our understanding of the Churchill Island bandicoot population.”
Starting at sunset, the guided walking tours will spot bandicoots which start to emerge from vegetation to forage across the paddocks and lawns, digging and searching for grubs of beetles, crickets, grasshoppers, moths, earthworms, and fungi. Each night, the animals dig hundreds of small conical pits and play an important role as soil engineers.
“The new bandicoot discovery tour promises to be a magical experience,” Mr Anderson said.
“Not only will guests spot bandicoots in their natural habitat, but they may have the opportunity to see them with young at foot.
“We do not approach any closer than about 10m, but bandicoots often delight guests by scampering and hopping around, and sometimes approach people up close.”
Participants require reasonable fitness for the 1.5km walking tour, which traverses some uneven surfaces and some in low light and very dark conditions. Tickets are limited and bookings are essential. The walking tour is not suitable for prams. Closed shoes, non-reflective weather protection and warm clothing is recommended.
For more information and bookings, visit www.penguins.org.au/whats-on
