Creature
Fast Facts
Introducing you to extinct species.

THE

LESSER BILBY/ YALLARA

1. The lesser bilby, Macrotis leucura, was first described by Oldfield Thomas in 1887 as a new type of "rabbit-bandicoot". 2. This bilby was also called the lesser rabbit-eared bandicoot, yallara, white-tailed bilby. It was referred to as the "Urpila" by the native Aborigines. 3. The total length of the lesser bilby was 17.3 inches in total length, 7 inches being the length of the tail. 4. It was a light yellow brown to gray with white feet and belly. 5. Its ears were 2.4 inches long and were specially adapted to help cool the bilby off in the sandy, loamy desert regions. 6. There were only 6 - 12 specimens of the lesser bilby ever collected. 7. They were much more aggressive than the greater bilby. Hedley Finlayson wrote that this animal was "fierce and intractable, and repulsed the most tactful attempts to handle them by repeated savage snapping bites and harsh hissing sounds." 8. Their burrows were 10 feet deep, but they preferred to stay by the entrance of their burrow making them easier for the Aborigines to catch. 9. The bilby's gestation period is only 14 days and has a backwards facing pouch. 10. It is thought that the lesser bilby was also nocturnal and ate vegetations, insects, and even small rodents like the extinct long tailed-hopping mouse. 11. In the 1970's Australians wanted to bring the endangered greater bilby into the public spotlight, so campaigned to have the Bilby replace the Easter Bunny, since the rabbit has caused so much destruction to the Australian landscape since it was first introduced. 12. It probably went extinct in the 1050's, but some Aboriginal accounts seem to indicate it survived into the 1960's.

Extinction
Cometh
Facing the light at the end of the tunnel

EXTINCTION DATE

1950's

The lesser bilby was a nocturnal marsupial found in the dry, arid areas of Australia, although its exact range was never known. No one knows exactly what caused the steep decline in their population. The lesser bilby was used as a food source for the native Aborigines. The lesser bilby would sleep near the surface of their borrow, and hunters would collapse the burrow to force the bilbies out. There were many factors such as clearing land for sheep grazing and farms. The lesser bilby also had to compete against invasive species like the "gray blanket" aka the escalated rabbit population. The introduction of the red fox in the 1870's for recreational hunting and feral cats also took their toll on the lesser bilby. The last lesser bilby was thought to have died in the 1950's although some Aboriginal accounts seem to indicate it survived into the 1960's. Could the lesser bilby live in Australia today? Although Jurassic Park is fiction, scientists are working on several de-extinction projects. In fact, in 2003 scientists did bring back the extinct Pyrenean ibex, a type of wild goat, for 7 minutes before it died, showing de-extinction is possible. The lesser bilby could be a good candidate. Scientists would use the DNA found in various museum specimens. Australia has made many strides in restoring natural habitats, eliminating invasive species, and helping struggling species recover since the extinction of this bilby in the 1950's. In fact, the greater bilby has been brought to center stage of conservation in Australia. In 1968 a 9-year old girl named Rose-Marie Dusting wrote a book called Billy the Aussie Easter Bilby which wasn't published until 1979. In 1991, Nicholas Newland from the 'Foundation for Rabbit-Free Australia' pushed the idea of an Easter Bilby into the public's eye. Some Aussie candy companies started changing the chocolate bunnies sold at Easter to bilbies, and the Easter Bilby movement piqued in 2009 when chocolate bilby sales were equal to the bunnies. Many chocolate companies gave back a portion of the profit to help save and protect the greater bilbies from extinction. In fact, Darrell Lea raised $300,000 towards the Save the Bilby Fund from 1999 - 2008. If the yallara was brought to life, could it ever be reintroduced to its native homeland in Australia?

Lazarus
Tales
Short stories of return

Click Scroll for Lazarus Return 'Rules'

NEW STORY

Would I be able to control my temper, should it flare up again? Could I be the face of a major holiday like my “greater” cousin? Would I be able to handle that kind of pressure? Would my resurrection from the dead at Easter be insensitive? Would the people even notice me, or would I slowly melt like a chocolate bunny left out in the hot, Aussie sun? Only time would tell. Who am I? I am the yallara, also known as the lesser bilby. Some would say I look like a small kangaroo, except for the fact that I have a much narrower snout, can’t really hop, and my pouch faces backwards. I used to live in the arid regions of central Australia far away from where most other creatures and people chose to live.