 |
Australian Bilby Appreciation Society |
||
Mr Bilby can take you back to the main
back to the main
back to the main
|
article by Andrew Merry Easter is the time of year when the local supermarket shelves becomes the habitat of the big-eared chocolate bilby. It has become an alternative to the tradition Easter bunny for those who want a native animal rather than an introduced pest as a symbol of Easter in Australia. The idea for an appropriate figurehead was started in South Australia by the anti-rabbit research foundation. Awareness of bilbies is growing, but many people are still unaware bilbies are in danger of extinction. Bilbies are desert dwelling bandicoots, about the size of a rabbit. They are grey in colour with extremely soft fur, a long snoot-like nose and a distinctive black and white tail. The large ears are believed to dissipate heat but more importantly allow it to hear what is happening on the surface when burrowing. It is the only bandicoot that still exists in arid areas; five other species of bandicoot that once existed in these areas are now extinct. The bilby once commonly occurred in areas west of the Great Dividing Range, occupying 70% of mainland Australia. Since European settlement, it has disappeared from about 90% of its former range. Populations now only occur sporadically in isolated arid areas in WA, NT and Qld. Queensland has a bilby population between 600 and 700. The other states do not have figures available, due to the dispersion of bilby populations over large areas. Their main predators are foxes and feral cats and, to a lesser extent, dingoes. Competition for land from large rabbit populations also is a factor. One of Australia's best-known bilby experts is Peter McRae; a senior zoologist with the National Parks and Wildlife Service based in Charleville, 740 kilometres west of Brisbane. For the last twelve years, Mr. McRae has worked exclusively on bilbies and with his long bushy beard, he is often referred to as "The Bilby Man". Mr. McRae is passionate about their survival and says when he first began research into the bilby in the 80's, there was little information available. In fact, there had been no scientifically based sighting of bilbies in Queensland since 1961. In 1988, Mr. McRae was one of the first to rediscover the bilby between Birdsville and Bedourie, a treeless landscape in Far Western Queensland, after years of searching, which included thousands of hours spot lighting. Mr. McRae describes how it happened, "it was a light misty, rainy night about four o'clock in the morning when we first spotted one, it was incredibly exciting". Mr. McRae spends months at a time in this isolated region researching. He has fitted some of the colony with radio collars to keep track of the dwindling population. Mr. McRae has also established a successful breeding program at Charleville with 30 bilbies in captivity. He says when they are newly born "they look like a baked bean with legs". The bilby is a marsupial and the female pouch contains eight nipples. However, only one or two young are usually produced at a time. To keep the captive population as genetically vital as possible, strict control and records are kept of breeding pairs as well as attempts to introduce bilbies from different colonies. The Queensland bilbies are genetically different from WA and NT and Mr. McRae believes the gene pool is large enough "for a full recovery. That is our goal". Currently, Mr. McRae is part of a campaign to raise $300,000 to build a 25 square kilometre fenced off enclosure near Hungerford, on the border of Queensland and N.S.W. The idea is to release the captive bred bilbies inside the enclosure to protect them from its predators. Once the population is large enough they will be released into the surrounding Currawinya National Park. The two metre high electric fence has been especially designed with a floppy top so if feral cats make it past the electric fence (cat fur is a good insulator), the top of the fence will push them back. So far $150 000 has been raised. Individuals are encouraged to buy a section of fence worth $20 for which they will receive a certificate and their name will be included on a plaque. Coles Supermarkets are selling the chocolate "Bush Billy Bilby". Fifty cents from each purchase goes towards recovering the bilby. Unfortunately, other chocolate Easter bilbies are cashing in on the idea and are not donating towards the fund*. Bilbies are nocturnal and shelter during the day in burrows about two metres underground. They are omnivores and at night they roam in search of insects, spiders, seeds, bulbs and even small mammals. At the Charleville National Parks and Wildlife Headquarters or, "Bilby Command Centre", as it is also known visitors can attend an information session in the evening. Mr. McRae and Charleville's chief district ranger, Frank Manthey volunteer their time to raise awareness. The highlight is seeing the captive- bred bilbies active (under very low light) in a high security enclosure. A tourist likened their appearance to rats, which was met with great disapproval by the rest of the observers who found them "incredibly cute". Often the bilbies will stand on their hind legs like a kangaroo; they also scamper on all four legs with a slight hop. While photographing bilbies I was amazed how quietly they move. Although timid in nature, they curiously inspected my camera lens and tried burrowing into my socks and shoes. "Bilbies are more unique than the mega-fauna of Africa (tigers, lions, elephants) in geographical evolutionary terms," says Mr. McRae. "Australia is an old and isolated landscape producing mammals that are unique and extremely important in the world context. We are only just beginning to appreciate how special they are." Mr. McRae points out there are numerous species in danger
of extinction in Outback Australia, for example, only 80 northern hairy
nose wombats are left. What makes the decline of the bilby such a
concern is they are a "generalists" and don't have special needs for food
and habitat. Mr. McRae says bilbies have a lot going for them in
terms of ability to breed quickly, surviving incredibly harsh desert conditions,
do not require drinking water and can eat just about anything. "They
should be flourishing. The fact they are not says a lot about the
state of the environment".
* Important
note: Coles announced after Easter 2000 that they are no longer supporting
the fund.
|