How is the bilby being protected?
The greater bilby is protected through predator-free fenced reserves, captive breeding, Aboriginal ranger programs and campaigns such as the Easter Bilby, which promotes it instead of the rabbit.
Bilbies are desert marsupials with long ears, silky grey fur and a long snout. They once lived across about 70 percent of mainland Australia, but foxes, cats, rabbits and land clearing have shrunk their range to parts of the Northern Territory, Western Australia and Queensland.
The lesser bilby became extinct in the twentieth century. The greater bilby is listed as vulnerable.
Saving bilbies
The Save the Bilby Fund built a predator-proof fence in Currawinya National Park in Queensland. Other fenced sanctuaries, such as Arid Recovery in South Australia, also protect bilbies.
Indigenous rangers survey bilby populations in remote deserts and manage fire to improve their habitat.
Chocolate Easter bilbies have raised money for conservation since the 1990s.
National Bilby Day, held each September, raises awareness, and zoos breed bilbies for release into safe, fenced areas across their former range.
Did You Know?
Bilbies dig spiral burrows up to two metres deep, which help them escape the desert heat.