A nocturnal forager of dry country with long ears and a pointed snout.
It has long rabbit-like ears, an elongated snout and a white tail tip. The female’s pouch opens towards the rear.
Greater Bilby signs help map how the species uses a landscape. In 2021–2023, researchers surveyed Queensland’s range with aerial searches and ground plots for tracks. Signs were more likely near drainage lines and where recent ground cover was greener than average.
Yet they were also more common farther from woody alluvial areas, so bilbies were not simply concentrated along watercourses. The authors suggest sparsely wooded drainage lines may offer burrowing ground and food while differing from denser vegetation. Across Queensland, the known range appeared stable or perhaps larger than in the 1990s, although individual sites showed mixed changes. This regional sign survey was not a census and cannot establish a global population trend.
IUCN Red List · Vulnerable (VU) · Global species-level assessment
The 2016 global IUCN Red List assessment lists the Greater Bilby as Vulnerable (VU). A separate Australian national assessment also recorded VU in 2009. The material directly read for this review did not establish the IUCN assessment day or global population trend.