Return to the wild

Once upon a time, the grassy plains west of Melbourne were hopping with gregarious little marsupials who had long pointed noses and four pale stripes on their hindquarters. Eastern barred bandicoots thrived happily among the tall, golden grass, and as late as the 1960s, residents who lived near the Grampians would see these stripey-bottomed critters nosing around their backyards.

But predators such as foxes and cats, and human encroachment, took a toll on the gentle creatures and by the 1980s their population was in freefall. Many feared they could be lost forever. In 2013, eastern barred bandicoots were declared extinct on mainland Australia. There was hope, however, in the form of a small colony that had been found taking shelter in rusted