Threatened bilby population thrives thanks to Taronga breeding boom
Once pushed to just 10 per cent of their former range, greater bilbies are making a comeback as new figures show the success of Taronga’s breeding program just in time for National Bilby Day
READING LEVEL: GREEN
Taronga celebrated Sunday’s National Bilby Day with encouraging new statistics from its greater bilby breeding program. The free-ranging* population at Taronga Western Plains Zoo is thriving, in a big win for bilby conservation*.
Recent population monitoring inside Taronga Sanctuary’s 100-hectares has confirmed an estimated 212 greater bilbies now call the site home, representing another significant milestone* for the nationally threatened species.
The recent survey recorded 109 bilbies, including 45 newly identified individuals that had never previously been recorded, highlighting the continued success of Taronga’s conservation efforts, which include keeping the sanctuary free of feral predators.
Since 18 greater bilbies were first introduced to the sanctuary in 2019, annual population surveys have confirmed 241 births, with additional unconfirmed births also likely.
The successful breeding program has seen 62 Taronga-bred individuals moved and reintroduced to the Wild Deserts project in Sturt National Park, NSW, and the Australia Wildlife Conservancy’s Newhaven site in the Northern Territory.
Working behind the scenes at Taronga Western Plains, the sanctuary provides a safe haven for bilbies to live and breed, free from introduced predators such as foxes and feral cats, which remain among the greatest threats to the species in the wild.
Taronga’s conservation team regularly monitors the population. During overnight surveys, bilbies are carefully trapped, given a brief health assessment, weighed and sexed before being released back into the sprawling space. Any new individuals discovered are given a microchip and genetic samples are taken to help keepers and conservation officers keep track of the genetic diversity in the growing population.
Conservation keeper Leonie Pascua said the results were an encouraging sign for the future of the species.
“National Bilby Day is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate a uniquely Australian species and the positive impact conservation programs can have,” Ms Pascua said.
“To see the bilby breeding population and program continue to grow inside the Taronga Sanctuary is incredibly rewarding for our team. Every new bilby recorded represents another step forward in securing the future of this species.”
“The bilbies living in the sanctuary are not only contributing to a healthy and sustainable breeding population, but they also play an important role in supporting recovery efforts for the species more broadly.”
Greater bilbies once occupied around 70 per cent of mainland Australia but were heavily reduced to only 10 per cent of their former range.
Today, conservation breeding, habitat protection and feral predator control remain critical to the species’ survival.
Taronga’s work is part of a larger effort to restore balance to Australia’s arid* ecosystems*. Through breeding, rewilding*, research and community partnerships, Taronga supports the recovery of bilbies as part of a broader effort to restore native species to desert landscapes and reduce extinction* risk across NSW.
This National Bilby Day, Taronga invites Australians to learn more about greater bilbies, their key role in the ecosystem and ongoing conservation efforts to protect one of Australia’s most iconic* marsupials*.
As a not-for-profit conservation organisation, any visit, stay or donation helps to conserve this iconic Australia species. For more information visit taronga.org.au
POLL
- GLOSSARY
- conservation: the act or an instance of conserving or keeping from change, loss, injury, etc 2. a. protection, preservation
- free-ranging: a system of keeping animals in which they can roam, forage and feed freely on an area of open ground
- sanctuary: protection or a safe place, especially for someone or something being chased or hunted
- feral predator: wild animals that are not owned or controlled by anyone, especially ones that belong to species which are normally owned and kept by people, like cats and dogs
- arid: having very little or no rain, very dry
- ecosystems: all the plants and animals that live in a particular area together with the complex relationship that exists between them and their environment
- rewilding: protecting an environment and returning it to its natural state, including by bringing back wild animals that used to live there
- extinct: no longer existing, when a species has completely died out
- milestone: an important event in the development or history of something or in someone’s life
- iconic: very famous or popular, especially being considered to represent particular opinions or a particular time
- marsupials: animal including kangaroos and possum in which the carry their babies in a pouch on their stomach
EXTRA READING
Giant extinct kangaroos identified
QUICK QUIZ
- How many bilbies have been confirmed at the Taronga Sanctuary?
- How many hectares is the free-ranging space?
- Which introduced predatory species are the main threats to the native bilby population?
- Great bilbies used to occupy what proportion of mainland Australia?
- What happens during the overnight surveys?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Make a bilby poster or slide show
Create an informative poster or slide show about bilbies. Include key information from this news story as well as researching other information that you think is most important. Use subheadings to organise your information, pictures and diagrams to aid your audience’s understanding.
Time: allow an hour to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Digital Literacy
2. Extension
Practise and then present your poster or slide show to an audience (your teacher, classmates and/or a parent). Aim to speak clearly and with confidence, and to answer any questions they may have.
Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English
VCOP ACTIVITY
Animal alliterations
With a partner, choose one of the bilby pictures from the article.
Make a list of nouns you could use to name the animal in the picture. For example, instead of a tiger, you could also say cat, or feline.
Pick your favourite noun and identify its initial sound — what sound it starts with, not necessarily what letter.
Now, using the initial sound, make a list of adjectives to describe the animal. Try to be specific. Don’t just look at the bilby as a whole, look at their different features as well.
Build on these same sound words, and add any verbs and adverbs you could use to describe the animal and their movements.
Try to put it all together and use as many same sound words in a sentence, to create an alliteration about the animal in the picture. For example: the terrifying tiger, tiptoed through tangled trees chasing his prey.