Need a reason to love the adorable, silky soft Bilby? [not likely]
20 facts about the Greater Bilby
The bilby is the reason Fabriculture took the turn it did. I took my twin boys to a playgroup when they were 9m old and the playgroup leader pulled a toy out of a box and asked the ‘bigger’ [age3-5] kids what it was. They all cried out “Bunny Rabbit”.
It was a bilby…
.
Alarmed and spurred into action – I took a look at the stuff surrounding my boys – their toys, books, bedroom and clothing were highlighted with feral animals such as cats, foxes and bunnies that destroy our wildlife. I decided then and there I would start drawing and researching and by the time the boys were 2, I had designed the Australian Alphabet Flashcards [all in between nap times]
I’m very proud that the “B” card is for Bilby.
Here are some facts about our beautiful, yet threatened species this National Bilby Day.
1. Whats in a name? Bilby is actually a derived from an Aboriginal word used by the Yuwaalaraay peoples meaning “long nosed rat”. Yuwaalaraay traditional lands stretch over an estimated 12,000 km2 of North Western NSW. It runs roughly from the Narran Wetlands through to Angledool and includes Walgett [where I grew up] and Brewarrina and Culgoa rivers, which all my paternal heritage lies.
2. Official title - Bilby is actually the Greater Bilby or Macrotis lagotis. Its relative the Lesser Bilby became extinct in the 1950’s.
3. Nicknames - it is also referred to as a Rabbit Bandicoot or Dalgyte or Pinkie.
4. Ancient creatures - the ancestors of the modern day bilby have been found as fossilised remains dating back 15 million!
5. Fundamental to our Land - when Europeans arrived, bilbies stretched from the Great Dividing range in the east to the Gascoyne coast in the west and covered 70% of the mainland, making them an intrinsic part of the landscape.
6. They are super diggers- Bilbies are one of nature’s eco-engineers, they play a really important part in the restoration of soil and rejuvenation of vegetation in arid Australia. They use their strong front paws to dig deep burrows which spiral down into the ground for roughly 2 metres. They move a larger volume of soil than any other animal in their habitat, and includes feral rabbits.
7. Ecosystem designers - the fossorial [burrowing] activity causes nutrients to amass in the soil, facilitating a much greater diversity of plants to grow compared to areas which are devoid of bilbies.
8. Valued home builders - active and abandoned bilby burrows provide a temporary refuge for many of the outback’s inhabitants. Bilby habitats also give protection to other endangered species – brush-tailed mulgara and spinifex hopping mice permanently occupy bilby burrows. Other species such as short-beaked echidnas and sand goannas – regularly using bilby burrows for shelter. Saving the bilby from extinction also means saving other Australian native wildlife AND restores the critically important ecosystems.
9. Low Vision: Bilbies have bad eyesight. To compensate, they rely on hearing and smell to navigate and hunt. They can even locate prey underground by sniffing it out and listening for it.
10. Night dwellers - In addition to having other strong senses, bilbies are not hindered by bad vision as they are nocturnal. They typically do not emerge from their burrows until an hour after dusk and reappear an hour before dawn. Since it is always dark while they are active, poor eyesight isn’t an issue!
11. Marsupials - Bilbies are marsupials and give birth to live young like the dibbler or northern quoll – however their pouch opens backward so as not to be filled with earth while digging.
12. On the wagon - Bilbies can obtain all the water that they need from their diet, removing the need to search for water sources and providing a massive advantage in arid habitats.
13. Water savers – Bilbies have adapted so their radiator-like ears are full of capillaries that cool their blood and eliminate the need for sweating or water.
14. Single mothers - Bilbies are usually solitary animals and the female bilbies tend to associate with males just to mate. Once pregnant they have one of the fastest pregnancies of any mammal – just 12 – 14 days!
15. Hey Baby - A baby bilby is called a Joey.
16. Where to find them? Bilbies’ natural habitats are spinifex grasslands and mulga scrublands in the hot, dry, arid and semi-arid areas of Australia. They are now only found living wild in remote parts of western Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
17. Life Span – bilbies live for about 5 to 7 years in the wild and up to 11 years in captivity.
18. Population decline - in the wild our bilby population has declined catastrophically. Over 80% of our remaining wild bilby populations only occur protected indigenous land or behind exclusion fences, or in captivity purely for breeding purposes.
19. Can I see one? Yes! You can visit a bilby in Charleville at Save the Bilby Fund. I have taken my boys there and I highly recommend it!
20. Good News: Bilbies, like a lot of threatened Australian animals, are easy targets for introduced predators such as foxes and cats because they have not evolved to see them as a threat. However, it has been discovered that wild greater bilbies are beginning to recognise and respond to the scent of introduced cats and foxes, providing a glimmer of hope for their future living alongside these feral, invasive species.
How can you help?
By promoting Australia’s biodiversity! You can help educate your family and friends about bilbies and Australia’s other threatened wildlife through our Australian Alphabet Flashcards, Workbooks or Playing cards
You can support the Save the Bilby Fund this National Bilby Day.