Greater bilby facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Greater bilby |
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| Bilby (right) and spinifex hopping mouse at Sydney Wildlife World | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
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Macrotis
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| Species: |
lagotis
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| Distribution of greater bilbies | |
The greater bilby (Macrotis lagotis) is a unique Australian animal. People often just call it the bilby. This is because its smaller cousin, the lesser bilby, sadly became extinct in the 1950s.
Bilbies are nocturnal, meaning they are active at night. They are also omnivores, eating both plants and animals. You can find them in the dry, desert areas of northwestern and central Australia. Other names for them include dalgyte, pinkie, or rabbit-eared bandicoot. Unfortunately, the number of bilbies is shrinking, and they are losing their homes.
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Where Bilbies Live
Bilbies once lived across a huge part of mainland Australia. This included dry areas, semi-dry areas, and even some fertile places. By 1995, their homes had shrunk a lot. Now, they mostly live in remote northern desert areas. They are considered a threatened species. In the past, bilbies were common near cities like Adelaide and Perth.
A bilby makes its home in a burrow underground. These burrows spiral downwards, which makes it very hard for predators to follow them inside. Bilbies like dry places with spinifex grass and acacia shrubs.
What Bilbies Look Like
Greater bilbies have a long snout, like a bandicoot, and very long ears. They are usually about 29 to 55 centimeters (11 to 22 inches) long. Compared to bandicoots, bilbies have a longer tail, bigger ears, and soft, silky fur. Their large ears help them hear very well.
Male bilbies weigh about 1 to 2.4 kilograms (2.2 to 5.3 pounds), similar to a rabbit. Some captive males have grown up to 3.7 kilograms (8.2 pounds)! Females are smaller, weighing around 0.8 to 1.1 kilograms (1.8 to 2.4 pounds). Bilbies have an excellent sense of smell and sharp hearing. Their fur is blue-grey with tan patches and feels very soft. Their tail is black and white with a clear crest.
Bilbies are amazing diggers. They use their strong front legs and claws to build large tunnel systems. A bilby usually has several burrows in its home area, sometimes up to a dozen. They move between these burrows to stay safe from predators and the hot sun. A female bilby's pouch opens backwards. This design stops dirt from getting into her pouch while she is digging.
What Bilbies Eat
Greater bilbies are nocturnal omnivores. They do not need to drink water because they get all the moisture they need from their food. Their diet includes:
- Insects and their larvae
- Seeds
- Spiders
- Termites
- Bulbs (like plant roots)
- Fruit
- Fungi
- Very small animals
They find most of their food by digging or scratching in the soil. They also use their very long tongues to pick up food.
Life Cycle and Reproduction
In zoos, bilbies can live for at least six years, and some even reach ten years old. However, bilbies in the wild often live for less than 12 months. Female bilbies can start having babies when they are six months old. They can breed all year if conditions are good.
Bilbies have a very short gestation period, which is the time they spend developing inside their mother. It's only about 12 to 14 days! This is one of the shortest gestation periods among all mammals. When they are born, the young bilbies are tiny, only about 0.25 centimeters (0.1 inches) long. They are very undeveloped. They must crawl into their mother’s pouch and attach to one of her eight teats.
Young bilbies stay in the pouch for 70 to 75 days. After leaving the pouch, they stay in the burrow for two to three more weeks before they can live on their own. A female bilby usually has one to three babies at a time. If conditions are good, she can have up to four litters (groups of babies) in a year.
Bilby Behavior
Greater bilbies usually live alone. However, sometimes they travel in pairs. These pairs are usually two females, and they are the only ones who care for their young. Female bilbies can have babies many times throughout their lives.
Fires sometimes happen in Australian regions. These fires help new plants grow, which bilbies like to eat. Bilbies also move around a lot when looking for food. Females travel about 1.5 kilometers (0.9 miles) between burrows. Males travel even further, up to 5 kilometers (3.1 miles). This difference is likely because males are often looking for mates and only need to care for themselves. Females, however, are responsible for their babies and need to find enough food for them.
Bilbies have poor eyesight, so communicating with each other can be tricky. But since they usually live alone or in small groups, this isn't a big problem. Any communication that happens is mostly through smell between males or by sound. Male bilbies use scent markings to talk to other males. Female bilbies usually don't pay attention to these signals, and males are never aggressive towards females.
Protecting Bilbies
Greater bilbies are a vulnerable species, according to the IUCN. Their lives are threatened by losing their homes and changes to their environment. They also face competition from other animals. The biggest threats are livestock farming and new species that have been brought to Australia.
Feral cats and foxes, which are not native to Australia, are a major danger to bilbies. Bilbies also compete with rabbits for food. There is a national plan to help save these animals. This plan includes:
- Breeding bilbies in captivity.
- Watching bilby populations in the wild.
- Releasing bilbies back into areas where they used to live.
The bilby has become popular as an Australian alternative to the Easter Bunny. People buy chocolate Easter Bilbies to help raise money for conservation. Haigh's Chocolates in Adelaide has made millions of chocolate bilbies since 1993. The money from these sales goes to the Foundation for Rabbit-Free Australia. This group works to protect Australia's native biodiversity. Australia also has a National Bilby Day on the second Sunday in September to raise money for conservation projects.
Efforts to reintroduce bilbies have been successful in South Australia. For example, 16 bilbies were released onto Thistle Island in 1997. Nine more were released into the Arid Recovery Reserve near Roxby Downs in 2000. The bilby population at Arid Recovery has grown with more releases in 2010 and 2020. Bilbies have also been bred at Monarto Safari Park and Cleland Conservation Park.
Bilbies were also released into the Currawinya National Park in Queensland in 2006. However, in 2012, feral cats got into the protected area after the fence rusted from floodwater. Surveys found no bilbies there after the cats were discovered.
Successful reintroductions have also happened on Peron Peninsula in Western Australia as part of a program called Western Shield. Bilbies have also been successfully reintroduced to other conservation areas, including islands and the Australian Wildlife Conservancy's Scotia and Yookamurra Sanctuaries. There is also a very successful bilby breeding program at Kanyana Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, near Perth.
The traditional knowledge of the Martu people from the Western Desert cultural bloc has helped scientists understand where bilbies might live.
Taxonomy
Scientific Names
The first scientific description of the greater bilby was written in 1837 by a person named J. Reid. He mistakenly thought the bilby came from Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania), where bilbies have never lived. Reid first placed the bilby in the Perameles genus, which included all bandicoot species at the time. However, he noticed how different it was. He suggested that if more similar animals were found, they could be put into a new group called Macrotis. The name lagotis was chosen because its ears looked like a rabbit's.
Later, another scientist, Richard Owen, suggested a new genus name, Thylacomys. This name was used for many years. However, Reid's original paper is now considered to have established the name Macrotis. So, the scientific name we use today for the greater bilby is Macrotis lagotis.
What "Bilby" Means
The word bilby comes from the Yuwaalaraay Aboriginal language of northern New South Wales. It means "long-nosed rat." In Western Australia, the Noongar people call it dalgyte. The Wiradjuri people of New South Wales also use the name bilby.
Images for kids
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In Spanish: Bilby mayor para niños
