Factsheet 22 – Why is life getting tough for bilbies?
Quirky fact : The bilby eats seeds Australian Curriculum Links using its long, skinny Year Subject Curriculum Links tongue to lick them 5 Geography ACHGK030 from the ground. This Science ACSSU043 feeding style means 6 Science ACSSU094
the bilby eats a lot of 7 Geography ACHGK040 sand. In fact, 20–90 Science ACSSU112, ACSHE120 per cent of its waste 8 Geography ACHGK051, ACHGK052 can be sand! Science ACSHE135
Background Information The endangered greater bilby, Macrotis lagotis, is Australia’s ‘Easter Bunny’ and is the only surviving bandicoot in arid Queensland. As one of Queensland’s 12 endangered mammals, the bilby is the subject of intense research and conservation efforts. Its closest relative, the lesser bilby, is extinct. Rabbit-sized, the bilby has delicate features with a long-pointed nose, silky pale blue-grey fur with patches of tan, big ears and a crested black and white tail. It uses strong forelimbs and thick claws to dig for food and a sticky tongue to lick up seeds. The bilby carries its tail stiffly and its ears are almost transparent. Sharp hearing and a strong sense of smell are vital to their survival as they have poor vision. A nocturnal animal, the bilby feeds on seeds, insects such as grasshoppers, beetles, spiders and termites, fungi, and bulbs, while most of its water is extracted from its food rather than from drinking. Bilbies inhabit dry, hot areas and burrow among hummock and tussock grasslands and acacia shrub lands. Powerful diggers, they make burrows up to three metres long and almost two metres deep where they spend their daylight hours. The burrow contains no nesting material and the Bilby (supplied by EPA) entrance is often against a termite mound or small shrub. In the deserts, its home is usually temporary and can change quickly depending on where it can find food. The bilby lives alone or in a pair and breeds throughout the year. Female bilbies have a backward-opening pouch with eight teats. One or two young are usually carried in the pouch at a time, although four have been recorded in the wild. Young stay in the pouch for 80 days. Bilbies put their young into burrows for about two weeks and return regularly to feed them. Queensland’s largest remaining wild group of bilbies lives in one area west of the Diamantina River. Charleville is home to the captive breeding program “Save the Bilby Fund”. The program is operated by the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency and releases captive-bred bilbies into a fenced wild enclosure within the Currawinya National Park. Charleville Bilby Experience
94 Outback Queensland Education Handbook | Australian Curriculum Factsheets Inquiry Questions ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Subject Years Questions Australian Government Department Geography 5 How do fire and floods impact on creatures like of Sustainability, Environment, Water, bilbies? Population and Communities National Recovery Plan for the Greater Bilby 7/8 What are the consequences of human use and www.environment.gov.au/resource/national- management of landscape for creatures like recovery-plan-greater-bilby-macrotis-lagotis bilbies? Dreamworld Wild Life For Kids Education Program Science 5/6 How have bilbies adapted to live in this Email: [email protected] environment? www.dreamworld.com.au/Schools/ Teachers/Wildlife-for-Kids.aspx How are environmental changes affecting them? Outback Now 7/8 How do bilbies fit into a food web? www.outbacknow.com.au/index. php?module= How are science understandings helping people pagesetter&func=viewpub&tid=37&pid=78
protect bilbies? Save the Bilby Fund www.savethebilbyfund.com
Points of Interest REFERENCES Charleville Bilby Experience Queensland Department of Environment and Meeting this delightful marsupial is a highlight for many visitors who Heritage Protection come to Charleville. Captive bred in Charleville to ensure the survival www.ehp.qld.gov.au/wildlife/threatened- species/endangered/endangered-animals/ of the species, this is a great opportunity to learn more about the survival, bilby.html habits and habitat of the endangered Bilby. FURTHER INFORMATION Warrego Highway, Charleville QLD 4470 Charleville Visitor Information Centre Cost: Fees apply and bookings are essential Phone: (07) 4654 7771 Hours: Nightly tours April to October 7.00pm. www.murweh.qld.gov.au Phone: (07) 4654 4717 (ask for the Save the Bilby Fund) Charleville Bilby Experience PO Box 155, Charleville QLD 4470 For tour bookings contact Charleville Visitor Phone: (07) 4654 4717 (ask for the Save the Information Centre (07) 4654 7771 Bilby Fund) Cosmos Centre and Observatory, Charleville Email: [email protected] Tregole National Park, west of Charleville Thurlby Station tours, Charleville
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119 52 NATIONAL R d o WINDORAH PARK r e g 106
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