Bilby

Colour me in

Please feel welcome to print this image for your child (or yourself) to colour/paint/collage (you might like to give this little Bilby a home by adding some grass and / or dirt). I recommend printing as black and white (as the background may have a slight tint to it) so not to waste your ink.

COMMON FACTS

Where does the name Bilby come from?

The word ‘bilby’ comes from an Aboriginal word, Bilba, used by the Yuwaalaraay people, and means ‘long nosed rat’. There were originally two species of Bilby but the Greater Bilby is now commonly referred to simply as ‘the Bilby’, as the Lesser Bilby is thought to have become extinct in the early 1950s.

What do they look like?

Bilbies have a long tapered snout, very long ears, and a long tail, which is fluffy at the end. The Bilby has silky grey hair, which is a stormy grey on top, and a lighter shade on its belly and sides. The tail starts as a dark grey or black and the fluffy end is white. When you’re colouring your Bilby you might like to experiment with making different shades of grey (or another colour that you like) by pressing your pencil harder where you want to make it darker, and softer where you want it to be lighter. Its long ears and snout are a soft pinkish colour. Bilbies have long back legs (but they don’t jump around like kangaroos, rather, they bounce around like a rabbit).

Where do they live?

Bilbies live in the arid (dry), desert regions of Australia, amongst spinifex grasslands and mulga scrublands. They used to live across 70% of Australian land, however sadly their numbers have rapidly declined and they are now found over only 15% of Australia. The areas of Australia they remain include parts of western Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia (you might like to mark these out on a map if you have one).

Bilbies love to dig! (they dig new burrows every few weeks!) and they are very very good at it! Their strong little front limbs have sharp strong claws that enable them to dig spiralling burrows, up to 2m deep and 3 meters long! They dig lots of burrows, one for sleeping in and others for keeping safe from predators. Their burrows also help them to keep them nice and cool. Bilbies do not like to get too hot! A Bilby may have as many as 12 burrows at one time! Their multiple homes mean that other animals can use them for shelter too. Isn’t that great!

What do they eat?

The Bilby is omnivorous, which means it eats both plants and animals. It’s favourite foods include bulbs (like the bush onion), fruit, seeds, fungi (like mushrooms), insects, worms, termites, small lizards and spiders. Bilbies long sticky tongues, and their well-developed sense of smell, help them to find their food. Bilbies don’t need to drink water because, like the Spinifex hopping mouse and koala, they get most of their moisture from their food. Bilbies have poor eyesight (they cannot see very well), and so rely on their amazing hearing and sense of smell to find food.

What do they do?

Bilbies are solitary animals, which means they live mostly alone. They are also nocturnal, which means they sleep during the day and are active at night. They usually stay close (within 250 meters) to their burrows in case they need to escape predators. Due to their poor eyesight they rely on their sense of smell and hearing to detect both prey and predators.

So long as there is food around Bilbies will mate (have babies) any time of the year. The female Bilby usually gives birth to one or two babies, which are called joeys (just like baby kangaroos, koalas and possums). When a Bilby is born it has no hair and is the size of a backed bean! Can you imagine holding a teeny tiny little Bilby joey in your hand?! As soon as they are born they crawl to their mothers pouch, which face backwards, just like a wombat, so that dirt doesn’t go in their face when their mother is digging their burrow. They live here, feeding on their mothers milk for 10-11 weeks.

Who are their predators?

The Bilbies natural predators include eagles, snakes and lizards. However, their biggest threat are introduced species (animals that are not native to Australia) such as feral cats and foxes.

Are they endangered?

The Bilby is listed as ‘vulnerable’. Although the Bilby has experienced rapid decline the good news is that there are several projects underway to protect them. For example, Bush Heritage Australia is working with the Martu people on conservation programs in the Birriliburu Indigenous Protected Area (in remote Western Australia). Most of the land that Bilbies now live on is Aboriginal-held land, and Aboriginal people are conducting incredible work to help the Bilby survive and thrive.

Bilbies are a ‘keystone’ species. This means that their protection is even more important because their survival in turn increases the chances of 19 other threatened species who share the same habitats.

For more info on what is being done to protect Bilbies: https://www.bushheritage.org.au/newsletters/2018/winter/bringing-back-the-bilby

Amazing facts

Bilbies have been around for over 15 million years!

They can turn over 1,000 to 3,000 kgs of soil every year! That is a lot! You might like to weigh yourself and ask your parents to work out how many of you that is!

Male Bilbies are almost twice the size of female Bilbies. Females are roughly 30cm. Can you work out roughly how big the males are?

Reverse (backward) pouches. Bilbies are marsupials (mammals with pouches). However, their pouch opens at the bottom, rather than the top. This prevents dirt from entering the pouch when the Bilby is burrowing. Wombats also have reversed pouches.

Bilbies are amazing gardeners! By digging dig deep holes in the earth, Bilbies aerate the soil (get air into soil), which help seeds to sprout, and enables dead plant material to fall in and decompose (break down). This makes the soil very nutritious for healthy plants to grow.

Bilby burrows other endangered species. Brush-tailed mulgara and spinifex hopping mice permanently (always) occupy Bilby burrows, and short-beaked echidnas and sand goannas often shelter in Bilby burrows. Many other animals have been seen interacting with Bilby burrows, including many mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians.

Activity ideas

Mark on your calendar, and celebrate National Bilby Day, which is held on the second Sunday in September.
Read a dreamtime story of the Bilby with your parents. There are many, and here is one: https://www.kullillaart.com.au/dreamtime-stories/Bilba-the-Bilby
Eat like the Bilby today – fruit, seeds, onion, though you may want to pass on the insects and spiders!
With your family you might enjoy a Bilby hunt game, where one of you is the Bilby and the others are prey (little spiders and insects). Whoever is the Bilby could hop around like the Bilby, and remember they can’t see very well so it may be fun to wear a blind-fold! The Bilby has to try and catch its prey by listening to its movements.
Draw a Bilby burrow including tunnels. You might also like to draw the other animals, who use their burrows, inside – maybe just one or why not all of them having a tea party? You might enjoy drawing from your imagination or maybe you could ask your parents to find you some images to refer to. As a reminder, these include the echidna, spinifex hopping mouse, goanna and the brush-tailed mulgara. Here is a link to see and learn about the mulgara: https://www.bushheritage.org.au/species/mulgara
If you like maps and are interested in geography you could mark out where the Bilby now live. The areas of Australia that Bilbies remain include parts of western Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia.

Documentaries

These two short documentaries are about conservation efforts being made to save the Bilby. They contain some beautiful footage of this gorgeous marsupial. They are both roughly 3-4 minutes each.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-870s9wuhM

https://conjour.world/editorial/bilbies-released-back-into-the-wild-in-2018/

References and further resources:

https://savethebilbyfund.com/about-bilbies/

https://www.bushheritage.org.au/species/bilby

https://www.activewild.com/bilby-facts/