Wildlife at the Watering Hole - September 2026 - Annabel Ellis

Bandicoot battlers: Understanding historical and contemporary coexistence between humans and a misunderstood native digging mammal

Annabel Ellis

Our world has a long history of human-wildlife conflict (HWC), mostly with the dangerously large or annoyingly small. Despite being a shy and innocuous marsupial, bandicoots (Peramelidae) are a misunderstood group with a history of human-wildlife conflict. These digging marsupials provide important ecosystem services, benefitting soil, plant, fungal and animal assemblages. However, they have been under considerable threat since European arrival in Australia, largely due to alien predators, but human-wildlife conflict was, and continues to be, a significant threat. Most of the conflict has centred around their natural foraging behaviour in human-shaped landscapes, such as farms and suburban gardens. My research focuses on historical and contemporary examples of human-wildlife conflict with bandicoots, and how we can use wildlife-friendly solutions to help coexistence with humans.

Meet our speaker:

Annabel is a PhD candidate at the University of Sydney in the Behavioural Ecology and Conservation Lab under the supervision of Professor Peter Banks and Professor Dieter Hochuli. She developed an interest in human-wildlife interactions while studying invasion ecology of black rats during a Bachelor of Science (Advanced) (Honours) at the University of Sydney. Annabel continued to develop her ecological research skills working and interning in government and not-for-profit organisations, before returning to undertake a PhD. Her research focuses on biodiversity conservation within transformed landscapes, creating novel approaches to mitigate human-wildlife conflict with a native digging animal, the bandicoot.