Our Work
Poop,
Scat,
DNA!
At the end of 2023, you so graciously helped us raise funds for a critically important research project: A National Bilby Genome Project.
The bilby was genetically profiled for the first time in 2021, which gave us the genome. That is the entire set of genetic instructions for making and growing a bilby. The bilby genome is incredibly complex – with 3.7 billion pieces of genetic code.
We used to have to invasively take a sample of tissue from their ears to profile their DNA; which is mighty hard considering they are nocturnal and spend most of their days deep underground. So we had trouble finding and capturing them.
However recent technological advances mean we can now extract DNA from bilby droppings/poop/scat. This is much easier to find! We will be collecting scat samples from wild bilbies as well as those in managed sanctuaries.
This is a national project, and we are working together with:
- The Greater Bilby National Team
- The University of Sydney
- Deadly Science
- Taronga Conservation Society of Australia
- The Greater Bilby Management Subcommittee
- The Greater Bilby scientific working group
- Rachel Paltridge, Indigenous Desert Alliance
- Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA)
Lights, Camera,
take ACTION!
In 2022, your generosity helped purchase and install 100 activity monitoring cameras on private pastoral estates between Boulia and Birdsville. That project has enabled us to see a clearer picture of bilby and bilby predator occupancy across 1,200km². The project was an essential step forward in our mission to secure the long-term safety of the Greater Bilby.
The cameras were installed in June 2023, and crucial data is now being collected.
We have gathered invaluable information from those cameras and we have seen a glimpse of which locations wild bilbies are persisting in, which locations wild feral cats, dogs, foxes, and cattle are co-inhabiting, and what effect they have on each other.
The data from the cameras helps us understand where wild bilbies have been able to persist in the wild and–importantly–where they haven’t and why.
‘Reconyx HP2X HyperFire 2 Professional Covert Camera’ is perfect for this critical job:
- With a 0.2s trigger speed, it won’t miss anything
- Detection range is 30 metres – over half of an Olympic pool (not that you’ll find any of those in far-west Queensland!)
- Infrared night vision range –essential for the nocturnal bilby – is 45 metres
- Operates in temperatures-40 to 60 °C – perfect for the harsh desert extremes
In 2024, you helped us purchase more of these cameras to expand our monitoring locations to around 2,500 kilometres squared. This has allowed us to gather even more data to help with the survival of The Greater Bilby.
Manage the Metapopulation
Now that the bilby genome has been mapped, it is being used to manage the bilby metapopulation in zoos, fenced sanctuaries and islands.
“By selecting individuals for translocation and release we maximise their genetic diversity, thus improving the population’s ability to adapt to a changing world.” Professor Carolyn Hogg.
The Queensland government has gifted the Northern Territory government with 35 endangered bilbies bred at Currawinya National Park by Save the Bilby Fund, south of Cunnamulla. It’s one of the largest-ever translocations of bilbies – Australia’s last surviving arid bandicoot species. Their new home will be Newhaven Reserve, west of Alice Springs – the world’s largest fenced area for threatened species. Over two days the bilbies are trapped in Currawinya, checked by vets and then flown to Hungerford (population 11!) to begin their safe new lives in the Northern Territory.
Story by Danielle Lancaster and Craig Fitzsimmons. ABC Australia
Bilby release & tracking
Now that we have the breeding facility, we can add to the captive bilbies that are being transported from wildlife parks around Australia to Currawinya to be released behind the predator-proof fence.
In 2024, we undertook our Census and surveyed over a 5-night period, starting at 4-5 pm in the afternoons and finishing anywhere between 3-4 am. We split up into teams and divided the tasks involved, such as checking and resetting traps, handling bilbies, checking their microchips and taking their weight and measurements
To save the bilby we need to maintain essential genetic diversity and continue to build up their numbers in safe and secure locations. This will provide insurance against the possibility of extinction in the wild and enable the re-introduction of bilbies into specially managed areas.
Without large numbers of safe and secure populations of bilbies, we are destined to lose the battle to save them.
The good news is that bilbies are a fast breeding animal and are superbly adapted to survival in our harsh outback. So their odds of recovery are exceedingly good, if only we give them that chance.
From the generous donations of the previous appeals, Save the Bilby Fund will be able to further upgrade our bilby captive breeding facilities, build new crèche-ing pens, and provide an environment that trains the bilbies for release.
The National Recovery Plan
In March 2015, Save the Bilby Fund initiated the Greater Bilby Recovery Summit. It brought together 39 experts who represented 29 stakeholder groups involved in bilby conservation.
The Save the Bilby Fund CEO, Kevin Bradley, is chair of the National Recovery team, and the stakeholders are from all over Australia, Members include Indigenous ranger groups, big charities like Wildlife Conservation Society and Bush Heritage, plus wildlife parks that assist with the breeding program.
Save the Bilby Fund is committed to delivering on the Greater Bilby Recovery Summit 2015 Report and Interim Conservation Plan and is working with all stakeholders to develop a new National Recovery Plan for the Greater Bilby based on the outcomes of the Summit.
A three-month public consultation period for the DRAFT Recovery Plan for the Greater Bilby closed on 12 July 2019.
It’s been 10 years since the initial Greater Bilby Recovery Summit, and we are pleased to announce we will be hosting again in 2025, proudly sponsored by Dreamworld.
