Killer Kangaroos and Other Murderous Marsupials; Prehistoric Beasts; Exclusive Online Issues; by Stephen Wroe; 7 Page(s)

Dawn mist blankets the rain forest of Riversleigh in northeastern Australia, 15 million years ago. A bandicoot family emerges to dip snouts warily into a shallow freshwater pool. Their ears swivel, ever alert to a sudden crack or rustle in the undergrowth: drinking is always a dangerous activity. Suddenly, a dark, muscular form explodes from behind a nearby bush, colliding with a young bandicoot in one bound. The shaggy phantom impales its victim on long, daggerlike teeth, carrying the carcass to a quiet nook to be dismembered and eaten at leisure.

In nature, many animals will meet a violent death. So the sad end of one small bandicoot seems hardly worth mention. The demise of this little fellow would, however, have surprised most modern onlookers. Its killer was a kangaroo--the Powerful-Toothed Giant Rat-kangaroo (Ekaltadeta ima), to be exact.