Thank you to all those that responded. The consensus is that it is a Southern Brown Bandicoot. As David indicates below, there is apparently a colony at Tidbinbilla within the Sanctuary, which
was where I took the pic. There were suggestions that it could be a Long-nosed Potoroo. From my limited knowledge of Potoroos, they hop on hind legs when in a hurry as for a wallaby (where I grew up in Tasmania they were known as a kangaroo rat). This guy
certainly remained on all fours when it rapidly fled the scene after it spotted me. Anyway I am happy to leave it as a SBB>
Regards
Lindsay
From: David Rees <>
Sent: Sunday, 27 January 2019 7:39 PM
To: ; <> <>
Subject: Re: [canberrabirds] Not a Bird but what is it?
It is a Southern Brown Bandicoot. and yes there is a colony of them in TBB in and around the sanctuary. The story about how they got there is a bit unclear but they are doing well now. Think it was a 'forgotten trial"' of sorts then
gradually some years later they started to 'reappear" and are doing well now.
On Sun, Jan 27, 2019 at 5:34 PM <> wrote:
Apologies for this intrusion on the birding chat line. However, I was birding when I saw the animal in the pic below, I have assumed Southern Brown Bandicoot but three things
cause me to be doubtful. First, there is no evidence of a tail. Second, it is smaller than other SBB that I have photographed (I accept it could be a juvenile). Third, my field guide does not indicate that SBB should be in this area. The photo was taken
at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, the animal appeared to be free (ie, was not in an enclosure but it could have escaped), and it was seen at around 9:30am. Appreciate any views.
Regards
Lindsay
