Australia's 7 cutest marsupials and where to find them

Forget kangaroos and koalas. Australia's lesser-known marsupials are its cutest critters

4 mins

Eastern Barred Bandicoot (Creative Commons: JJ Harrison)Eastern Barred Bandicoot (Creative Commons: JJ Harrison)

1. Bandicoot

Description: Long, pointed head and snout with a short, compact body and long, thin tail. Like a rat, but prettier. 

Interesting fact: Bandicoots have the shortest gestation periods of all mammals, with their young born just 12 days after conception.

Where: North-east Tasmania

A numbat (Shutterstock.com)
A Numbat (Shutterstock)

2. Numbat

Description: Reddish-brown termite-muncher, banded with white and black eye stripes on a delicate tapering head. Think glamorous squirrel.

Where:  Southwest corner of Australia.

Interesting fact: An adult numbat can eat more than 20,000 termites in just one day.

A Bilby (Shutterstock.com)Bilby (Shutterstock)

3. Bilby

Description: Like a bandicoot, but with long rabbit-like ears. They also build and live in long burrows.

Interesting fact: Chocolate Bilbys have become a popular alternative to rabbits at Easter, with a portion of money from each sale going to helping research and rehabilitation of this endangered species.

Where: Mulga shrublands and spinifex grasslands in the Tanami Desert of the Northern Territory; the Gibson and Great Sandy Deserts and the Pilbara and Kimberley regions of Western Australia and the Mitchell Grasslands of southwest Queensland.

A quoll (Shutterstock.com)
A quoll (Shutterstock)

4. Quoll

Description: Spotted brown or black fur, pink noses and disconcerting white spots that look like the creature has tangled with a bottle of bleach.

Interesting fact: A female quoll gives birth to up to 18 puppies, of which only six survive to suckle on her teats.

Where: East coast of mainland Australia, Tasmania and parts of New Guinea.

Quokkas (Shutterstock.com)Quokkas (Shutterstock)

5. Quokka

Description: The smallest member of the macropod family, a quokka is like a cross between a rat and a kangaroo. Only cuter.

Interesting fact: Quokkas always seem to be smiling. Hence earning them the title of  ‘The World’s Happiest Animal.'

Where: Small islands off the coast of Western Australia, in particular on Rottnest Island just off Perth and Bald Island near Albany.

Sugar Glider in the tree (Shutterstock.com)Sugar Glider in a tree (Shutterstock)

6. Sugar Glider

Description: Small and fluffy, with enormous brown eyes, the sugar glider also have a membrane from their wrists to their ankles that allows them to fly. Like a furry bedsheet but more effective.

Interesting fact: Sugar gliders have been domestically bred as household pets in the United States for the last 12-15 years.

Where: Mainland east coast Australia and New Guinea. They were introduced to Tasmania in 1835.

Pygmy possum (Shutterstock.com)Pygmy possum (Shutterstock)

7. Southwestern Pygmy Possum

Description: A striking cinnamon colour with large oval ears, huge brown eyes and long whiskers. And tiny. It couldn’t be any cuter if it tried.

Interesting fact: Southwestern pygmy possums have the ability to enter torpor during cold weather. Lasting up to seven days, their body temperature drops and they use only 1% of their normal intake of oxygen, enabling them to conserve energy and food reserves.

Where: Southwestern Australia, the wheat belt of South Australia and Kangaroo Island.

... and finally, a cute video of baby numbats at Perth Zoo:



Main image: Sugar glider munching on grub (Shutterstock)

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