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.

Honey Possums are tiny marsupials about the size of a mouse, that feed on nectar and pollen. Their name is misleading as they don’t eat honey and they aren’t possums. As honey possums need a year-round supply of flowers they only live in flower-rich areas in south-west Western Australia. Their habitat has been drastically reduced by land clearance and protecting their habitat from rabbit impacts is an important activity to help Honey Possums, as is removing predators such as foxes and wild cats. 

Malleefowl are large birds about the size of a chicken. They live mostly on the ground (although they can fly) and build large mounds for laying their eggs. Malleefowl were once widespread across a large portion of (mainland) southern Australia but they have been in decline for the past 100 years. They are a threatened species and are in danger of becoming extinct in the wild in Western Australia. To protect malleefowl it is necessary to protect their habitat, and to link populations by providing corridors of native vegetation between habitats. It is also necessary to remove predators such as foxes and wild cats, and to remove wild rabbits who compete for food and increase the number of predators. 

Black-gloved wallabies, also known as western brush wallabies, are small kangaroo-like marsupials that graze on a variety of grasses and shrubs and live in the south-west corner of Western Australia.  They were once common in Western Australia, but their numbers have reduced due to fox predation and loss of habitat through land clearing.  To protect Black-gloved Wallabies it is necessary to protect their habitat, remove foxes who eat the young wallabies, and remove the wild rabbits (who compete for food and increase the number of foxes). 

Foxes are a significant, introduced pest in Australia brought to Australia 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. eat lambs). Foxes are considered pests in all Australian states and territories. 

Planting native grasses, bushes and trees in specially selected areas helps animals find a steady supply of food and provides important shelter and safe areas for them to move around.  In the Bush Café, Honey Possum, Black-gloved Wallaby and Malleefowl plant their favourite food plants – Banksias, Speargrass and Acacias. Controlling wild rabbits and weeds and removing predators like foxes are important activities to help establish new habitat and safe corridors for wildlife.