The Australian Bilby

The Australian Bilby's native habitat is in the Australian desert. Although some Bilbies exist in zoos and other places around the world because people have taken them there.

Interesting Facts about Bilbies.
The Bilby (Macrotis lagotis) is a member of the bandicoot family.
Bilbies are also known as Rabbit-Eared Bandicoots.
They are marsupials.
The pouch opens backwards so as not to be filled with dirt while digging.
The word Bilby is from Yuwaalaraay, an Aboriginal language.
Bilby fur is very soft. It is mainly blue-grey, with some fawn.
Bilbies have poor eyesight, so it is just as well their hearing and smelling senses are good.

What distinguishes it from a rabbit?
Large ears which can be flapped to create a breeze.
A long snout,
The Bilby is truly nocturnal.

What it likes to eat
Bilbies are omnivorous. Some of the things they eat include: seeds, spiders, insects and their larvae, bulbs, fruit, fungi and small animals.
The Bilby doesn't drink water, it gets all it needs from its food.

Is it extinct, endangered or alive and doing well?
The Greater Bilby is on the endangered list, the Lesser Bilby is believed to be already extinct. Australian Bilbies were distributed over about 70% of the Australian mainland and the Aboriginal Australians used to hunt them for food.
The ancient hunting habits did not cause them to start to die out though.
In the 18th century, following European settlement in Australia, there was a sudden increase in trapping and hunting Bilbies for their skins.

Predators
The bilby’s predators include goannas, cats, foxes, dingoes, snakes, large birds and large night birds of prey.
Introduced species such as feral cats and foxes are preditors which did not exist prior to european settlement.

Endangered Species
The main reason they have become an endangered species is through the gradual loss of their natural habitat. Introduced species like the rabbit are competition for the bilby.

The Bilby's Habitat
Bilbies live in spiraling burrows which they dig up to 2 metres deep. In its natural environment it needs these burrows so that it can remain cool.
Bilby's have strong forelimbs with long claws which makes them brilliant burrowers.

In the Northern Territory Bilbies live in mulga shrublands and Spinifex grasslands in the Tanami dessert. They can also be found in the Gibson and Great Sandy Deserts in Western Australia. In Queensland they can be found in the Mitchell grasslands.

Conclusion
You will find bilbies in isolated arid and semi-arid areas in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland.
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Visit the Bilby Appreciation Society Home Page