Western Queensland Road Trip #5 Charleville
Everyone is familiar with Australia’s native animals the koala and the kangaroo. But you may not have heard of another of our favourites, the bilby.
Bilbies are desert-dwelling nocturnal marsupials. Once their habitat covered more than 70% of Australia but with the importation of foxes, rabbits and cats their numbers have declined to the point where they have been declared a vulnerable species. In western Queensland, there are fewer than 600 bilbies living in the wild.
In an effort to prevent the extinction of bilbies, the Save the Bilby Fund was established in 1999. The fund’s ongoing vision is to preserve and protect bilbies by developing a captive breeding program and creating a predator free zone within Currawinya National Park where mature bilbies can be released and monitored.
The fund’s home base is the Charleville Bilby Experience at the historic Charleville Railway Station.
Displays explain the bilbies’ life cycle, behaviour and diet. They are excellent diggers and construct several long burrows close to each other. Like many Australian native animals they are marsupials; their young live in a pouch. Similar to wombats, a bilby’s pouch opens at the back. This prevents dirt from going in when the bilby is digging.
A full size model depicts the predator proof fence constructed at Currawinya.
The main attraction at the centre is the nocturnal house, where bilbies can be seen in an enclosure replicating their natural desert environment. Only a couple of these swift moving animals are on show at any time. Their appearance is distinctive, with silky fur, large ears and a long white tipped tail. As they dart around logs in the darkened enclosure, they’re little more than a blur – it’s difficult to capture a clear image.
With the help of the Save the Bilby Fund, these endearing creatures should be able to stay one step ahead of extinction.
Hi Carol! I do know of the cute little bilby but I did not realise they are so severely at the brink of extinction. They are, like all your marsupials, intriguing and unique and ought to be celebrated. Though wombats remain my favourite, these little critters are right up there. Thanks for this informative post.
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Hopefully the research and work being done will save the bilby. They really are very appealing. Wombats are cute too, in a very different way.
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Those ears!
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Pretty cute aren’t they. 😍
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They’re very unique looking aren’t they. You did well to get such good phot
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Believe me, there are plenty of photos of a grey blur. 🙂 They were fun to watch.
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Oops photos of them. Fingers not working this morning. 😬
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Aww they’re so cute! And with those paws it’s no wonder they’re good diggers.
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Good to know of this great effort to save the bilby. They are precious.
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Precious is a good word for these little creatures and it is great to see their numbers increasing.
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wow how amazing to see them . . .
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Even better in real life. They move so fast and they’re very agile.
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Cute little critters! Hope the rescue continues to succeed.
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They’ve learned a lot over the years and are putting it all into practice. Hopefully numbers will flourish.
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Funny little things aren’t they? Never ever heard of Bilbies before but they look cute and should be protected if their natural habitat is being reduced. Those big bullying rabbits eh?
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I know you speak of rabbits in jest Jonno, but they are actually a huge issue in Australia. They aren’t native, and were brought with the first fleet for food and hunting. Of course, once they were released into the wild the numbers increased dramatically, into the billions. They eat plants down to ground level, which means native animals lose their habitat and food supplies. When we first saw rabbits in a field in England, we couldn’t believe how tiny they were. Aussie rabbits are huge! There have been some very successful eradication programs in the past, including three rabbit proof fences built across the outback for a distance of more than 3,000 km. Rabbits have been responsible for the extinction of many native species here, so they’re not welcome. 🙂
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I also didn’t realise that Bilbies are so close to extinction. It’s the story of so many of our native animals to a greater or lesser degree, but thank goodness people are endeavouring to save them.
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Yes, the fund is doing a marvellous job. A friend of ours works for Parks and Wildlife and he has been a part of building the fence at Currawinya. It’s been a big job but very worthwhile.
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How weird and wonderful! This world is full of strange creatures (and I’m not just talking about us, Carol 🙂 )
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They do look quite unusual with their huge ears, Jo. Very cute though.
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Great photography. I have never and seen Bilbies. Thank you. Have a good day!
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I’m glad to introduce you to the bilbies, Matti!
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They are adorable and new to me. Love your marsupials. Reminds me of quokas on Rottnest Island near Perth. Distant relatives perhaps? Your photos are great and they are really cute. Hope they thrive.
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They are both marsupials, but quokkas are in the same family as kangaroos and wallabies while bilbies are related to bandicoots.
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Oh my. My lack of knowledge is showing. I know kangaroos and wallabies, but don’t believe I’ve seen bandicoots. Or if I saw them they got lost in my mind. You have such interesting marsupials.
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We really do!
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Thanks for the introduction and long may they flourish.
Regards Thom
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I’m glad you enjoyed learning about our bilbies, Thom. Let’s hope their numbers continue to grow.
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Interesting. I have never heard of them, but went to google to read a little more. Thank you for this learning opportunity, and I hope the efforts to save them is very successful.
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I’m glad you were interested to find out more about our bilbies, Judy. They are very cute little creatures.
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They are very cute – even their name is cute! 🙂
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They are cute and so speedy. Getting a good photo was a challenge.
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I’ve never heard of a bilby before. What amazing creatures you have in your neck of the woods. And how wonderful that there is an organization to prevent their extinction. 🙂
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They are so cute Cathy and also very fast. This was our first time seeing them.
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