[2] The golden bandicoot was once found across most of northern, central and western Australia, as far as south-western New South Wales to the east.
[6] Some had also been sighted NSW/SA border,[7] However, numbers declined sharply within a few decades after European settlement of Australia, and was gone from the central deserts by around 1950.
[8] The golden bandicoot once lived all throughout Central Australia, but by 1992 it had been reduced to a small area in northwest Kimberly and Arnhem Land.
[10] The golden bandicoot lives in spinifex and tussock grasslands,[8][2] and it used to be widely distributed in arid deserts and the surrounding semi-arid areas as well as tropical forests and woodlands.
In Northern Kimberley, it is found along the margins of rainforests lined with sandstone, and in the Yampi Peninsula it inhabits eucalypt woodlands.
[8][2][5] It is the smallest of the short-nosed bandicoots with a golden colour back, hence the name, finely streaked with black fur.
The golden bandicoot is nocturnal, foraging at night by digging small holes in the ground to find food.
[8] The golden bandicoot is quite rat-like in appearance due to its small body, hunched-over posture, and relatively long tail.
And, unlike most marsupials, the golden bandicoot has fused toes on its hind feet, forming a comb they use for grooming.
[13] Measurements in the laboratory show that the golden bandicoot has a low body temperature that is constantly changing;[13] in this sense it is heterothermic.
During the day, it sleeps in dense vegetation or a hollow tree, making nests out of sticks, leaves, and grass.
[9] The golden bandicoot will also burrow in the soil if the temperature rises in order to keep cool.
[5][14] Amongst marsupials, the golden bandicoot is known to have one of the highest reproductive rates, and it has one of the shortest gestation periods for mammals, only about 12 days.
[14] Several factors have contributed to the decline of golden bandicoot numbers throughout the century including introduced species, exotic predators, and loss of habitat.
[8][2] Large birds are the primary, natural predator of the golden bandicoot, but many predatory species have been introduced within its range.
Instead, there is an "approved Conservation Advice [which] is an effective, efficient, and responsive document to guide the implementation of priority management actions, mitigate key threats, and support the recovery of this EPBC Act listed Vulnerable species".
[17] In the Northern Territory, both the government and the Gumurr Marthakal Rangers[b] are involved in a collaborative program to ensure the survival of the species.
Ongoing priorities in the NT include:[6] In June 2023, the Darran.gu Wulagura women's Indigenous ranger team worked in collaboration with the Australian Wildlife Conservancy to survey the bandicoot population on Wilinggin country (in the Kimberley) for the first time ever.
[20] The animal, known as Wan'kurra in the Yolngu language,[21] features prominently in song-cycles in the ceremonies of the Gumatj people of Arnhem Land.