Fun Facts About the Bilby

Spotlight on the Nocturnal Animal, Threats to Its Survival, and Efforts to Save This Species

Found only in Australia, the Bilby, or Rabbit-Eared Bandicoot, is a very rare type of terrestrial, burrowing, marsupial and is the largest living member of the bandicoot family. Two main species of Bilbies are known, the Greater Bilby, Macrotis lagotis, (which is divided into two subspecies, the Western and the Eastern) and the smaller Lesser Bilby, Macrotis leucura. The Lesser Bilby is believed to be extinct.

The Bilby looks somewhat like a cross between a rabbit and a small kangaroo with a long nose, particularly when standing on it's back legs with front paws held off the ground. The long ears of the Bilby distinguish it from other types of living bandicoots and it is bigger, about the size of a rabbit. They come in shades of blue grey with varying amounts of pinkish tan on their bodies. They have lighter shades of white or cream on their undersides. The color of their body blends into their tail at the base, changes to black, and ends in a white tip.

This unusual looking pouched mammal has five toes on the short forelimbs. The first and last digits of each front paw are very small and can bend inward. The middle three have long sharp claws to aid in digging burrows. The back legs are longer with narrow feet resembling a kangaroo's. Externally, the Bilby appears to have three hind toes, with a middle toe much larger than the others. A close look shows that the innermost toe is actually two fused toes ending in two separate claws. This double claw can serve as a grooming comb.

The Bilby has one of the shortest known gestations at just 12-14 days. The young stay in the mother's backward tilting pouch for 70-80 days. After they are weaned, Bilbies, which are omnivores, eat insects, seeds, fruit, and small animals including small lizards and mice. Although they may eat a few bulbs, they can be beneficial to farmers and gardeners by consuming large numbers of crop damaging beetles as well as mice.