Bilby – much more than an Easter chocolate time!

Bilbies are nocturnal, omnivorous marsupials that are restricted to south-western Queensland, parts of the Northern Territory and north-west Western Australia. There is actually only one species, Macrotis lagotis,(the Greater Bilby) although at one time there were more. The Lesser Bilby, Macrotis leucura, became extinct in the 1950s.

Due to the effects of rabbits (which may have forced bilbies from their burrows); becoming snared in traps set for the rabbits; predation from feral cats and the introduction of the European Red Fox, Vulpes vulpes; together with habitat loss and more destructive bushfires, the Bilby is considered endangered in Queensland and vulnerable, nationally.

To help save the remaining populations,10 September has been designated National Bilby Day.

A captive breeding facility is already in operation, at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, to help raise stocks of Bilbies for eventual reintroduction to the bush.

If you would like to know more, purchase Bilby merchandise or make a donation, please visit: Save the Bilby Fund – Help us save the bilby.