Sheepdogs have proved they can protect little penguins, so now they are to become the personal bodyguards of endangered bandicoots.
A squad of six Maremma guardian dogs will be roped into protecting a group of Eastern Barred Bandicoots from feral cats and foxes when they are released into the wild in western Victoria.
The endangered bandicoot was thought lost to Victoria until fewer than 50 were rediscovered living among a pile of wrecked cars at the Hamilton tip in the late 1980s.
Melbourne Zoo went on to breed 650 bandicoots, with many released at protected feral-proof fenced areas.
Now, inspired by the Middle Island Maremma Project, where the sheepdogs successfully protected little penguins near Warrnambool, the bandicoots will soon be released on to private land at Tiverton Station as part of a state government and community-funded trial.
