Story Characters

Bilbies were once common throughout large parts of Australia, but now they are only found in isolated populations in Western Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland. One of the contributing factors to this decline was their displacement by wild rabbits who directly compete with bilbies for food and burrows.

Dusky Hopping Mouse

Dusky hopping mice are small, nocturnal rodents with large ears, dark eyes and a long, bushy tail. They weigh between 20 and 50 grams. They live in the desert and sleep in burrows during the day, while at night they forage for seeds, shoots, berries and occasionally insects. They do not need to drink water. Dusky hopping mice compete for food and habitat with wild rabbits and are easy prey for foxes and feral cats due to their small size.

Central Bearded Dragon

Central bearded dragons are medium-sized lizards with triangular heads, flattened bodies and a pointy tail. They have rows of spiny scales covering their bodies and under their chin (their ‘beard’). Central bearded dragons bask in the sun during the day and sleep at night. They eat leaves, fruits and insects, including crickets, grasshoppers, butterflies, ants and beetles. When they are threatened, they open their mouth and puff out their beard, so they appear bigger and scarier. They live in a variety of habitats, including arid (desert) landscapes. Central bearded dragons are affected by wild rabbits’ overeating, as this leads to fewer leaves and fruit, fewer insects who live on the plants, and fewer plants to hide from predators in. Central bearded dragons are also easy prey for feral cats and foxes.

Mistletoe Bird

Mistletoe birds are small (10 to 11 centimetres) with long, pointed wings. The males have a distinctive red throat and chest. They are a species of flowerpecker and mainly eat mistletoe berries. They are found throughout mainland Australia, wherever mistletoe grows. Mistletoe birds spread mistletoe by pooping out the seeds which are then able to germinate and grow new plants. Mistletoe birds are dependent on mistletoe, which is a parasitic plant that grows on established trees. In areas where there are many rabbits, there are no younger trees to support mistletoe plants when the older trees die.

European Red Fox

Scientific name: Vulpes vulpe

Foxes are a significant pest in Australia, introduced from Europe in the 1850s. Foxes are predators who catch and eat wild rabbits, as well as native birds and mammals. They also impact agriculture (e.g. eating lambs). Foxes are considered pests in all Australian states and territories. 

Feral Cats

Feral cats are predators who hunt wild rabbits as well as native birds, mammals, reptiles and frogs, killing over 1.5 billion native animals a year. Feral cats rely on rabbits as food when there is nothing else to eat, so there can be a lot more cats where rabbits are more common. Removing feral cats gives the native animals a chance to survive.

Safe Haven Areas

Safe havens are areas where the threats to native plants and animals are removed. The Wild Deserts safe haven uses special fences to keep out all the wild rabbits, feral cats and foxes. This gives the native plants the chance to re-establish and the native animals the chance to increase their population. One of the earliest fenced safe havens was Arid Recovery in northern South Australia, where the special fencing used in many safe havens was pioneered.

Bilbies as Environmental Engineers

While wild rabbits and bilbies both dig when foraging for food, their digging styles are very different. When bilbies dig for food they aerate the soil and leave little pits and snout holes that collect leaf litter and seeds, and water when it rains, creating perfect conditions for the seeds to germinate. Rabbits dig narrow trenches in the ground which are much less effective in capturing seeds, leaf litter and rain. They also eat every part of the plants, including digging to eat the roots, so that there are fewer native plants able to set seed.

Adapters

The plants and animals that live in Australian deserts are specially adapted to the environment. Plants survive by having drought tolerance (reducing water loss through their leaves, or having deep taproots to find water) or drought avoidance (like germinating immediately after rain and completing their lifecycle in a few weeks before soils dry out). Many animals survive in deserts by living underground or resting in burrows during the heat of the day (they are nocturnal) or by having low water requirements (getting all the moisture they need from their food).