Native Animals History and Science
Bettongs: Keepers of the Forest Floor
Bettongs, often called “rat-kangaroos”, are small, nocturnal marsupials once widespread across Victoria and much of southern and eastern Australia. Belonging to the genus Bettongia, these rabbit-sized creatures are members of the kangaroo family but adapted for life in dense undergrowth and open woodlands. They are diggers, seed dispersers, and ecosystem engineers—creatures whose presence shapes landscapes (Johnson 2006). For Indigenous peoples, bettongs were food sources, their fur used for adornment, and their behaviours read for seasonal knowledge (Dawson 1881; Howitt 1904). Their decline since colonisation reflects the broader story of Australia’s lost biodiversity, but reintroduction projects offer hope for their return (Short 1999; Pope et al. 2019).
Origins and Deep Time
Bettongs sit within the macropod radiation that unfolded as Australia dried through the Neogene. During the Miocene (23–5 Ma), early forest-dwelling macropods diversified as woodlands and grasslands replaced wetter habitats; lineages leading to modern bettongs evolved powerful hindlimbs for hopping and specialised forelimbs for digging (Archer 1984; Flannery 1994; Prideaux & Warburton 2010). Through the Pleistocene (2.6 Ma–10 ka), bettongs thrived alongside megafauna across south-eastern Australia and Tasmania (Johnson 2006). For >40,000 years, First Peoples incorporated bettongs into subsistence, law and story, embedding sustainable harvest within cultural calendars (Howitt 1904; Clarke 2011). Pre-1788, bettongs were common in Victoria’s grassy woodlands. With the 19th–20th centuries, habitat clearing, foxes and cats, and disease precipitated mainland collapses (Short 1999; Abbott 2008; Woinarski, Burbidge & Harrison 2014). In the present, fenced sanctuaries, predator control and Indigenous-led stewardship are returning bettongs to parts of their former range (Pope et al. 2019; Wadawurrung TOAC 2021).
Species and Distribution
Historically, several Bettongia occurred across Australia. In Victoria and the southeast, the key species were:
Eastern Bettong (Bettongia gaimardi)—once across Victoria, NSW and Tasmania; now extinct on the mainland and persisting in Tasmania (Pope et al. 2019).
Brush-tailed Bettong / Woylie (Bettongia penicillata)—formerly widespread in southern Australia, including western Victoria; now reduced to remnant populations mainly in WA and SA (Abbott 2008; Woinarski et al. 2014).
(Northern and Rufous bettongs occur further north but share similar ecological roles.)
Today, bettongs are extinct in the wild in Victoria, though conservation partners and Indigenous-managed lands are working toward reintroductions inside predator-free reserves (Woinarski et al. 2014; Pope et al. 2019).
Ecology and Behaviour
Bettongs are nocturnal foragers. Their ecological roles are profound:
Soil engineers: They dig for fungi (truffles), tubers and roots, turning over tonnes of soil annually—improving infiltration, preventing compaction and enhancing nutrient cycling (Johnson 2006; Fleming, Anderson & Prendergast 2014).
Seed dispersers: Through caching and incidental burial, bettongs promote germination and plant recruitment (Fleming et al. 2014).
Fungal partners: They are keystone dispersers of ectomycorrhizal fungi that support plant nutrition (Claridge, Seebeck & Rose 2007).
Where bettongs vanish, measurable declines in soil health and plant regeneration follow (Johnson 2006; Fleming et al. 2014).
Indigenous Knowledge and Use
For Indigenous communities in Victoria, bettongs were well-known and respectfully harvested.
Food: Meat roasted or baked in earth ovens (Dawson 1881).
Materials: Skins and sinew used for ornaments and string (Howitt 1904).
Seasonal indicators: Digging activity and track patterns signalled soil moisture, truffle abundance and seasonal change; stories often cast small marsupials as humble teachers of care for Country (Clarke 2011).
Decline Since Colonisation
After European settlement, populations fell rapidly due to:
Predation by foxes and cats (Abbott 2008).
Habitat loss from clearing and grazing (Woinarski et al. 2014).
Disease and small-population processes (Short 1999).
By the early 20th century, bettongs had disappeared from Victoria; the Eastern Bettong survived only in Tasmania (Short 1999).
Conservation and Recovery
Reintroductions: Eastern Bettongs re-established in predator-free sanctuaries in the ACT and NSW, demonstrating feasibility for Victoria (Pope et al. 2019).
Predator control: Fox/cat eradication and secure fencing are non-negotiables (Woinarski et al. 2014).
Partnerships: Traditional Owner leadership is central to planning and stewardship (Wadawurrung TOAC 2021).
Restoring bettongs restores the soil processes that sustain woodland health (Johnson 2006; Fleming et al. 2014).
Wadawurrung Country Context
On Wadawurrung Country—from Ballarat’s volcanic plains to Djilang (Geelong) and the Bellarine—bettongs once thrived in grassy woodlands and forest edges. Their constant digging aerated basalt soils that supported yam daisy (murnong) and other staples (Gott 2015). Though not a primary totem for all families, their presence signified fertile, fungal-rich Country; stories remembered them as emblems of quiet labour and renewal. The absence of bettongs is felt as a loss of soil vitality; reintroduction is therefore ecological and relational healing (Wadawurrung TOAC 2021; Gott 2015).
The Physics and Biology of Bettong Digging
Soil turnover: A single bettong may shift 3–6 t of soil per year, boosting infiltration and reducing erosion (Fleming et al. 2014).
Aeration & gas exchange: Diggings deliver oxygen deeper into soil, stimulating microbes and root respiration, improving carbon cycling (Claridge et al. 2007).
Seed burial: Shallow burial protects seeds from heat and predators, raising germination success (Johnson 2006).
Fungal networks: Spore dispersal via scats maintains mycorrhizal “nutrient highways” (Claridge et al. 2007).
Indigenous observation long recognised these functions, aligning cultural law with modern ecology (Clarke 2011).
The Future in Victoria
Success depends on:
Expanding predator-free sanctuaries and landscape-scale predator control.
Restoring woodland–grassland mosaics with cultural fire.
Embedding Indigenous leadership, ensuring reintroductions uphold responsibilities to Country (Wadawurrung TOAC 2021; Woinarski et al. 2014).
If achieved, the soft scratch of bettongs in leaf-litter can again become a night sound of Victorian Country.
Conclusion
Bettongs—once abundant in Victoria—now survive in memory, story and sanctuaries. Their history mirrors colonisation’s losses and the endurance of Indigenous knowledge. As diggers and spreaders of life, they are essential to healthy soils and resilient woodlands. Protecting and reintroducing them means reviving a species and the cultural–ecological relations that sustain Country.
References
Abbott, I. (2008). The spread of the cat Felis catus in Australia. Conservation Science Western Australia, 7(1), 1–17.
Archer, M. (1984). The Australian Marsupial Radiation. Surrey Beatty, Sydney.
Claridge, A.W., Seebeck, J.H. & Rose, R. (2007). Ecology of Bandicoots and Bilbies. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.
Clarke, P.A. (2011). Australian Indigenous Ethnobotany: An Overview. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.
Dawson, J. (1881). Australian Aborigines: The Languages and Customs of Several Tribes… George Robertson, Melbourne.
Fleming, P.A., Anderson, H. & Prendergast, A.S. (2014). Is the loss of soil ecosystem engineers contributing to degradation in Australia? Mammal Review, 44(2), 94–108.
Flannery, T. (1994). The Future Eaters. Reed Books, Sydney.
Gott, B. (2015). Indigenous use of plants in south-eastern Australia. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria, 127(2), 64–73.
Howitt, A.W. (1904). The Native Tribes of South-East Australia. Macmillan, London.
Johnson, C. (2006). Australia’s Mammal Extinctions: A 50,000-Year History. Cambridge University Press.
Pope, L.C. et al. (2019). Reintroduction of the Eastern Bettong to mainland Australia. Biological Conservation, 236, 151–160.
Prideaux, G.J. & Warburton, N.M. (2010). Morphology and systematics of fossil kangaroos. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 159, 954–987.
Short, J. (1999). The extinction of rat-kangaroos (Bettongia) on the Australian mainland. Biological Conservation, 91(3), 219–227.
Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (2021). Cultural Fire Strategy. Geelong.
Woinarski, J.C.Z., Burbidge, A.A. & Harrison, P.L. (2014). The Action Plan for Australian Mammals 2012. CSIRO Publishing.
Written, Researched and Directed by James Vegter 16/09/2025
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Magic Lands Alliance acknowledge the Traditional Owners, Custodians, and First Nations communities across Australia and internationally. We honour their enduring connection to the sky, land, waters, language, and culture. We pay our respects to Elders past, present, and emerging, and to all First Peoples communities and language groups. This article draws only on publicly available information; many cultural practices remain the intellectual property of communities.