Bilby
..Macrotis lagotis

"hare-eared long-ear"

other names
Greater Bilby, Rabbit Bandicoot or Pinkie

DESCRIPTION

Male: Head and body length - 300-550mm. Tail Length - 200-290mm. Weight - 1000-2500g. Light and delicate in build. Strong forelimbs and stout claws. Soft and silky hair. Ears very long and rabbit like. Top of tail black, bottom half white, extreme tip of tail is hairless. Muzzle is long and pointed.

Female: Head and body length - 290-390mm. Tail Length - 200-278mm. Weight - 800-1100g. Appearance as per male.

The delicate features and soft fur of the Bilby seems out of character to the habitat it dwells - harsh desert. Once inhabiting the arid and semi-arid regions throughout most of Australia, it can now only be found in the deserts of central Australia from the Tanami Desert in the Northern Territory, west to Broome and south to Warburton, Western Australia. Small populations occur just north of Birdsville in south-western Queensland in the clay and stoney soils. The desert habitat of spinifex and red earth is the Bilbies preferred home. As water is rarely available in the desert, the Bilby must obtain most of its water through the food it eats. The diet includes insects and larvae, seeds, fruit and fungi. The Bilby has poor eyesight but the senses of hearing and smell are acute and these are the primary senses for catching prey. The Bilby is a strong burrower, constructing systems that can be 3 metres long anbd 1.8 metres deep. The burrow entrance is often hidden under a spinifex tossock, small shrub, termite mound, etc. During the day the Bilby rests in the borrow and surfaces well after dark. The Bilby can live on its own, in a pair or sometimes with recent young. In captivity the Bilby can breed at any time throughout the year. The backward facing pouch has eight teats but usually only two young are born. Pouch life is around 80 days. The Bilby was considered common throughout its range until the early 1900's when there was a sudden and widespread contraction due to direct and indirect effects on food from fire, grazing, competition with rabbits and predation.