Australian Bilby
Rabbit-Eared Bandicoot

One of the cutest Australian animals is the Bilby, also known as the Rabbit-eared Bandicoot or Greater Bilby.

They are a marsupial and are the largest member of the Bandicoot family.

The Greater Bilby measures up to 55 centimetres in body length, with a tail up to 29 centimetres long. Adult males weigh up to 2.5 kg and females weigh about half that. They have a long pointed snout and very large ears.

Their fur is very soft and mainly grey with a blue tinge to it, their belly is white and their tail is black with a white brush tip.

The Australian Bilby feeds on lots of small insects, like grasshoppers, ants, beetles, centipedes and spiders they also eat various seeds, fruits, roots and bulbs. Like the Koala the Bilby gets most of its needed moisture from the food it eats.

Bilbies have an excellent sense of smell and hearing but rather poor eyesight, which is probably why they only come out at night to feed.

They are normally very solitary little fellas only coming together to mate, but will sometimes live in small groups of up to 4.

Bilbies breed all year round and the gestation period is only 2 to 3 weeks, after being born the young live in the mothers rear facing pouch for about 70 to 80 days. The mother continues to feed them for another two weeks or so.

Bilbies are excellent at digging burrows, up to 2 metres deep, and building large tunnel systems. They will make a number of burrows within their home range and move between them, using them for shelter from predators and the heat of the day.

They live in the arid deserts in patches of Western Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland. South Australia has a recovery program to reintroduce them to that state.

The Bilby

My name is bilby, grey black and white
I am in danger, help with my plight,
My land and friends are vanishing as well,
Our world is becoming a living hell.

I feed on insect's roots and seeds,
My bush food satisfies me and fills my needs,
I have lived in my land for many a year,
And there was a time I had nothing to fear.

I burrow and tunnel to avoid the suns heat,
It is no longer the danger to beat,
Sadly it is you and the progress of time,
That has given you a future but what about mine?

Stella P. Bell