Efforts to save the greater bilby in Australia ^{CEFR B2}

The greater bilby (Macrotis lagotis) is one of Australia’s best known mammals and is now threatened with extinction; the IUCN Red List classifies it as vulnerable. Historically bilbies lived across about 80 percent of Australia, but today their population is estimated at roughly 9,000 mature animals. The animal resembles a mouse in appearance but is closer to rabbit size and is recognised for its large ears. Haigh’s Chocolates produces chocolate bilbies as an Australian alternative at Easter and the species features widely in awareness work.

Numbers fell for several reasons. European rabbits, introduced in 1859, became an invasive species and harmed local ecosystems, and feral cats and foxes had a major impact. Habitat loss from land clearing and grazing by cattle and sheep further reduced suitable areas. Conservation responses include captive breeding, predator-free fenced areas and reintroductions.

The Save The Bilby Fund was established in 1999 by Peter McRae and Frank Manthey, known as The Bilby Brothers, and ABC’s Back Roads visited the centre in 2023 noting the fund’s role in a National Recovery plan and the creation of a breeding program at a national park. The Australian Wildlife Conservancy manages six fenced sites; in 2022 it established a new population at Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary outside Alice Springs, where Ecohealth surveys showed adaptation and a juvenile was first recorded on camera trap in November. AWC says its properties will protect an estimated 5,000+ bilbies within the next few years.

Other efforts include the Wild Deserts project in Sturt National Park near Cameron’s Corner and a government Recovery Plan that works with Indigenous rangers. Projects reported by the National Indigenous Times will fund feral cat control across more than 3.2 million hectares of west Queensland, support Warla‑Warrarn Indigenous protected area rangers on Martu Country and back the Kimberley Bilby Project in the Kimberley region. Community groups mark a national bilby day in September, and conservationists use online tools such as a live stream by ANU ecologist Ana Gracanin in Tallangada National Park to raise public awareness about threatened species.