Have you ever seen a bilby? Probably not and there’s a reason why.
The lovable impish Aussie icon made popular by Easter chocolates is threatened with extinction. In fact, bilbies once inhabited vast tracts of land but today can only be found very rarely on around 20 per cent of the area they used to inhabit.
And it’s not just human population expansion that’s responsible for the bilby’s demise, although its ultimate threat can still be attributed to us. Feral cats, of which there are over 20 million in Australia, kill 75 million Australian species every day, and foxes – both of which are introduced species – are the bilby’s main predators.
Sadly, the only bilby many Australian children will ever see will be made of chocolate.
Unless the Save the Bilby Fund has anything to do with it.
The national charity was launched in 1999 by Frank Manthey and Peter McRae, and operates within the Greater Bilby National Recovery Plan.
The program raises awareness of the bilby’s plight and has already helped to create a managed area which provides a safe, protected space in which the bilby can thrive.
You can see first-hand how the fund helps, by visiting the Charleville Bilby Experience in western Queensland. Here you’ll learn about this endangered marsupial and the challenges it faces, as well as what you can do to help save them.
As a small group with no government funding, it relies on the generosity of the public. If you ever meet a bilby, which I can tell you is a real treat, you’ll not be able to stop yourself from digging deep into your pockets to help provide a better future for these quirky little critters.
But don’t go buying those chocolate bilbies – the Save The Bilby fund gets hardly a cent from the sale of the Easter favourites. Instead, donate your money directly to the Save The Bilby Fund, and give your grandkids a chance to see one of these furry friends in their natural landscape.
