Scientists worked with Walpiri to track down bilby poo – and uncover clues to help conserve these iconic animals

By Hayley Geyle, Ecologist, Charles Darwin University
Cathy Robinson, Principal Research Scientist, CSIRO
Christine Schlesinger, Associate Professor in Environmental Science, Charles Darwin University
Helen Wilson, Lead Ranger, North Tanami Rangers, Indigenous Knowledge

The greater bilby (Macrotis lagotis) is one of Australia’s most iconic yet at-risk animals — and the last surviving bilby species. Once found across 70% of Australia, its range has contracted by more than 80% since European colonisation.

Today, these nocturnal marsupials, still culturally significant to many Indigenous peoples, are restricted to remote deserts. They face an ongoing threat of extinction.

Local elders, Indigenous rangers and scientists hold valuable knowledge about bilby populations, the threats they face, and strategies needed to sustain them into…

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