The eastern barred bandicoot (Perameles gunnii) is a nocturnal, rabbit-sized marsupial endemic to southeastern Australia, being native to the island of Tasmania and mainland Victoria.

Keys to this conservation plan include maintaining an insurance population in captivity, conducting research to improve breeding and reintroduction success and increasing community awareness and support for this rare marsupial.

[5] A management plan, developed in 1987 and revised in 1989, recommended the first reintroduction of the eastern barred bandicoot in Victoria at Woodlands Historic Park, 20 km (12 mi) northwest of Melbourne.

The captive-bred offspring formed the basis for reintroductions into the Nature Reserve, known as the Back Paddock, a 400-ha section of the park with a predator-resistant fence to keep out feral predators.

[7][8] On 15 September 2021, Victoria's Environment Minister Lily D'Ambrosio announced that the conservation status of the Victorian species has changed from "extinct in the wild" to "endangered", as its population had jumped from 150 to 1,500 over the course of thirteen years.

[11] This species is more widespread than its mainland cousin because Tasmania provides large areas of suitable habitat and because the island lacks the bandicoot's main predator, the red fox.

Representatives of government agencies, NGOs and private conservation groups collaborate to develop and implement actions to improve the species' outlook.

[citation needed] An effective recovery tactic currently in use is the exclusion of invasive predators from populations of threatened eastern barred bandicoots through the extensive use of conservation fences.

[citation needed] The species is the basis for the popular videogame character Crash Bandicoot,[14] and was selected from a number of Tasmanian mammals by creators Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin for its appeal and relative obscurity.