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Australian Wildlife

  Bilby (Macrotis lagotis)

BILBY FACTS

Description
The Bilby has long rabbit-like ears and pointed nose. The fur is silvery blue. It has a longish black and white tail. It has strong claws for digging.

Other Names
Rabbit-eared Bandicoot, Rabbit Bandicoot, Ninu, Dalgyte

Size
Male is 30-55cm. The female is 30-40cm. The tail is 20-30cm long.

Habitat
Deserts of central Australia where it lives in underground burrow during the day.

Food
Digs for insects, larvae, seeds, bulbs, fungi.

Breeding
Usually has two young. Pouch like is about 75 days. After the young leave the pouch, they stay in the burrow for a few weeks while the parent forages at night.

Range
desert areas of Northern Territory, Western Australia and western Queensland.

distribution map showing range of Macrotis lagotis in Australia

Credits:
Map is from Atlas of Living Australia website at https://biocache.ala.org.au licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Conservation Status
The conservation status in the 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals is "vulnerable".

Classification
Class:Mammalia
Order:Peramelemorphia
Family:Peramelidae
Genus:Macrotis
Species:lagotis
Common Name:Bilby