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Elected representatives in government are in charge of the policy and funding that can make or break saving threatened species. Their decisions and actions matter.

Kennedy has or used to have 63 threatened animals within its boundaries. One of them is me, the Northern Bettong.

We took care to attach appropriate images that are as close to representative of each species as our resources and the availability of images allowed. However, we could not ensure perfect accuracy in every case. Some images show species that share the same genus but not at the species or subspecies level.

Photo of Northern Bettong

Northern Bettong

Bettongia tropica

Status: Endangered

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) lists threatened species under six categories:
Extinct, Extinct in the wild, Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, Conservation dependent. Read more about these categories

Bettongia tropica is found across 2 electorates.

The northern bettong is a small potoroid with pale grey fur and a cream underbelly, weighing around 1-1.5 kg as an adult. This species is endemic to north-eastern Queensland and has a small, fragmented distribution having undergone a large contraction in range. The distribution of this species appears to be limited by the availability of food resources and vegetation associations which are heavily influenced by fire. The northern bettong is a solitary and nocturnal animal, heavily dependent on truffles as food source as well as the subterranean stem bases from Alloteropsis semialata and Hypoxis species. Northern bettongs can reproduce all year-round and under optimal conditions a female can produce up to three young per year, though typically one young is born and remains in the pouch for 100 days. Low fire frequency and intensity, competition with pigs and drought are threats to this species.¹

Explore more about this species on the Atlas of Living Australia

Adverse fire regimesAdverse fire regimes

Climate change and severe weatherClimate change and severe weather

Disrupted ecosystem and population processesDisrupted ecosystem and population processes

Habitat loss, fragmentation and degradationHabitat loss, fragmentation and degradation

Invasive species and diseasesInvasive species and diseases

Explore more about the threats facing species on our Resources page.

Kennedy has or used to have 88 threatened plants found within its boundaries. Some of these might not be as photogenic as the Northern Bettong but they're just as important.

You are in federal electorate Kennedy.

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