Continuing in our series of Australian native animal facts, this page contains information and interesting facts about the bilby!

Picture of a Bilby

1. The bilby is a desert living marsupial.
2. There were originally two species of bilby, but one became extinct in the 1950s.
3. The name bilby is an Aboriginal word meaning long-nosed rat.
4. It is an endangered animal due to habitat loss and competition between them and other animals.
5. Bilbies have a long muzzle and very long ears – apparently hearing is not an issue!
6. They are burrowers and can build tunnels with their strong limbs and claws.
7. The female bilby has a pouch which faces backwards so her pouch does not get filled when she is digging.
8. Bilbies are nocturnal omnivores that do not need to drink water – they get all the moisture they need from their food, which includes insects and their larvae, seeds, spiders, bulbs, fruit, fungi and other very small animals.
9. Bilbies are only pregnant for 12 to 14 days, one of the shortest of all mammals.
10.  The bilby also has a long tongue which helps it find/reach food.
11.  There was a movement to have the Easter bilby replace the Easter bunny in Australia with some of the sales raising money for the protection of these unique little native animals.
12.  There is a national recovery plan to help revive the bilby population which sees bilbies being bred in captivity and introducing them back to areas where bilbies once lived.
13.  Bilbies are closely related to the bandicoot.

At Australian Native T-Shirts, we have a delightful plush toy bilby called Bill – here’s a picture:

Stuffed Toy Bilby

A unique gift of a realistic stuffed toy from Australia – you can click on the bilby toy picture to purchase one for yourself! We hope you enjoyed our bilby facts – it sure is a cute little Australian native animal.

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