Of the many millions of Bilbies living in Australia just 200 years ago, only a few thousand remain today. Bilbies breed throughout the year, commonly having two young suckling from teats in the pouch. Like Koalas, Wombats and their close Bandicoot relatives, Bilbies have backward opening pouches. The young stay in the pouch for about 80 days. When they are too large for the pouch, they are kept in the burrow for about 2 weeks while the mother returns to suckle them throughout the night.
Bilbies become mature at six months of age when they are old enough to forage for themselves.
The common diet of adult Bilbies includes ants, termites, beetles, centipedes, grasshoppers, larvae, seeds, underground fungi, fruits and bulbs. Coincidentally, a large amount of soil is ingested during feeding. The Earth Sanctuaries Bilby breeding program began at Yookamurra Earth Sanctuary , a 5000 hectare old-growth mallee sanctuary located between the Barossa Valley and the River Murray, South Australia. Two Western Bilbies came from the Territory Wildlife Park in Darwin, and the other from the Arid Zone Research Institute in Alice Springs, Northern Territory. The first set of Bilby twins were found in the pouch in August that same year.