Save the Bilby Fund Environmental Protection Agency 1 Park Street, Charleville, Queensland 4470 Phone (07) 4654 3057 Bilby Show - April to October 2009 (Mon Wed Fri Sun) - souvenirs, videos - bookings essential Website: www.savethebilbyfund.com

The bilby: Endearing, endangered and doing well ...

JUST a decade ago, the little Aust­ralian bandicoot, the bilby, was in danger of extinction. Today, the species has a bright future, thanks largely to two Queensland Parks and Wildlife officers who shared a deep commitment to save the little creatures.

Bilbies are desert-dwelling bandicoots about the size of a rabbit. They have large ears, a coat of soft, light grey and tan hair, and a very distinctive black and white tail. Of the six bandicoot species that once lived in the arid/semi-arid areas of Australia, bilbies are the only species remaining and even their numbers have become dangerously low.

The genetically distinct Queensland population is the most threatened in Australia. Presently, the population is estimated at less than 600, and is spread very thinly across nearly 100,000 square kilometres between Birdsville and Boulia.

Luckily for the bilbies, Queensland Parks and Wildlife officers Frank Manthey (then a ranger - now promotional officer for the bilby) and Peter McRae (senior zoologist, pictured) were determined not to let them disappear. In 1999, they launched an appeal to raise $400,000 to build a predator-proof fence at Currawinya National Park for the re-introduction of bilbies from the Charleville captive breeding program to that area. By 2005, a pilot colony of five bilbies (bred and raised in captivity) had been released inside the enclosure and were being closely monitored with the help of radio transmitter tracking devices. It was an exciting moment when “pouch babies” were discovered in 2006. Since then, 14 bilbies have been born at the captive breeding facility in Charleville. Ten bilbies were released in October last year … and the bilbies inside the fence are thriving. It is estimated there are now between 50 and 100 bilbies inside the fence - including many juveniles born there.

During your stay in Charleville, enjoy a Bilby Experience hosted by a team of dedicated volunteers. Shows are operated from April to October. For times and location information, phone the Charleville Visitor Information Centre on (07) 4654 3057 (group bookings by appointment).

National Bilby Day is an annual event. Launched in 2005, it is a day to celebrate the Australian bilby and its new role as an ambassador for all other species that are on the brink of extinction. National Bilby Day is always on the second Sunday in September, and celebrates the fight for endangered creatures while remembering the ones that are already gone forever.