Somebody said ‘A bandicoot,’
I had to look it up.
Another odd marsupial –
Antipodean pup.

A cross between a wombat
A kanga and a rat,
It looks as though God made it
From bits of this and that.

Distinct from almost everything –
Genetically a scrawl –
But compare it to a platypus
And it’s not that odd at all.

There’s a whole raft (Ark?) of Australian animals that are completely alien to the rest of the world.  The bandicoot has the very best name and it looks like three different animals have been crudely assembled in the dark.  However, when you live in a country that boasts a water dwelling mammal that has a duck’s bill, that lays eggs and has venom like a snake, well, sadly, you’re not really that exciting are you?