Voting has closed, we’ll be back at 12pm AEST to announce the Top 8!
It was a close match between the greater bilby and the Australian fur seal in the final hours of voting, with just 23 votes separating them. But in the end the greater bilby couldn’t hop over the line and has been removed from the running.
Now you’ve got just 22 hours to vote for your favourite in the Top 9, after which we’ll remove the lowest-rated mammal, clear the tallies and start again with the Top 8 at the same time tomorrow. Get behind our mammals and give them a shoutout to your friends to ensure they make it into the next rounds.
After the tally closes each day we’ll scrutineer the votes to ensure that, like last year, passionate supporters haven’t guaranteed their mammal’s place with any anomalous voting.
Toodaloo to the greater bilby!
Name(s): Greater bilby (Macrotis lagotis); other names in Indigenous languages include walpajirri, ninu, mankarr, pingki-tawutawu, marrura, warrikirti, tjalku, nyarlku, yinpu, mirtuluju, muntalgnaku, nyarlgoo, birndirdiri, kulkawalu, nirlyari, jirrartu, jawinji
Size: Body length: 29-55cm, tail length 20-29 m, weight 0.6-2.5kg.
Diet: Generalist omnivore – insects and their larvae, seeds and fungi, bulbs and fruit.
Habitat: Once widespread across Australia, populations are now restricted to parts of the Tanami, Great Sandy and Gibson Deserts and the Kimberley and Pilbara regions, with small populations in south-west Queensland and north of Alice Springs.
Conservation status: Vulnerable
Superpower: Greater bilbies are diligent and hard-working excavators, capable of digging multiple large burrows (up to 2m deep) within hours. These burrows make for important refuges, not only for bilbies, but for many other animals known to use them!
The greater bilby is the largest of the bandicoots, and easily the most charismatic and iconic – which other animal gives the Easter bunny a run for its money? But they differ by having a longer, striking tail, disproportionately bigger ears, and softer, silkier fur. They were aptly described by Australian mammologist Hedley Finlayson (1935) as having “a number of structural peculiarities to grotesque lengths yet manages to reconcile them in a surprisingly harmonious, and even beautiful, whole.”
Greater bilbies are excellent burrowers, digging extensive tunnel systems with their strong forelimbs and well-developed claws. This work keeps them busy! They regularly dig new burrows and can occupy up to 18 burrows at any one time. Coupled with their foraging habits, this makes the greater bilby an important “ecosystem engineer”. By turning over soil, bilbies create depressions that catch organic matter, increasing the amount of beneficial nutrients in the soil. Their burrows also make good homes for other desert-dwelling animals, including other small mammals, reptiles and birds.
The greater bilby is also a culturally important species, highlighted by the many different Indigenous names used across Australia. The name “bilby” is derived from the Ullaroi language name “bilba”, although there are at least another 20 names used across the country. The greater bilby is often featured in cultural stories, song lines, beliefs and laws, and Indigenous people have an intricate understanding of its ecology. Most of the bilby population now occurs on Indigenous land, and in many local areas, bilby persistence is linked to ongoing management being undertaken by Traditional Owners and Indigenous rangers.
Greater bilbies shelter in their burrows during the day, emerging after dark to forage for food. They are the only (living) desert-dwelling animal known to expose and rip open plant roots in search of larvae (a well-known example being witchetty grubs), creating unique diggings at the base of shrubs and forbs. They also feast on other insects (including beetles and termites), as well as plant material like seeds and bulbs, which can sometimes be difficult to find. Consequently, greater bilbies are highly mobile – an individual can move up to 2-3km per night! They are known to colonise new habitats, particularly in less productive parts of their range. These behaviours allow them to adapt to their conditions and take advantage of patchy food resources.
The greater bilby is certainly a fighter – it is the last surviving desert-dwelling bandicoot, having held on longer than its counterparts, and is the only remaining member of its family, following the extinction of the lesser bilby (Macrotis leucurua) in the 1960s. But while it’s outlook may be better than some of our other tragically extinct critters, it’s not without consequence – the greater bilby has declined significantly, to about 20% of its original range. This decline has been more severe in the eastern and southern parts of its distribution and can be attributed to the usual suspects – a combination of changing fire regimes, predation by foxes and feral cats, over-grazing by livestock, and competition from other feral herbivores, particularly rabbits.
Reintroduction efforts have been successful, particularly in areas excluding foxes and cats – the greater bilby currently persists as several translocated populations, including on predator-free islands, in mainland fenced enclosures, and in areas where foxes and cats are heavily managed. But protecting the greater bilby in the wild is challenging, primarily due to difficulties associated with managing bilbies and their threats at large spatial scales. Good fire management and targeted feral animal control are likely our best bets.
In no particular order, here are our Top 9!
Golden-tipped bat (Phoniscus papuensis)
The golden-tipped bat has made a glittering impression on voters with 46.1% of the votes in “The Cool South: Forest Fossickers”. They roost in the bottom of suspended bird nests, excising a chamber below the nest where they happily freeload.
Australian fur seal (Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus)
Having placed second in “Under the Sea: Marine Marvels”, unlike last year, the Australian fur seal collected enough votes overall to make it to the Top 10. They are the largest of all fur seals in the world, with females weighing 78kg and males 220-360kg.
Gilbert’s Potoroo (Potorous gilbertii)
The Gilbert’s Potoroo secured 56.5% of support in in “Woodland Wanderers”. After missing from the records for 120 years and thought extinct, they came “back from the dead” when rediscovered in 1994.
Ghost bat (Macroderma gigas)
Phantom of the Australian night sky, the ghost bat, took home 23.6% of the vote in “Savanna Scurriers”. They can wait undetected above unsuspecting prey, before swooping down and capturing them with a swift bite to the neck.
Dugong (Dugong dugon)
The dugong took out 28.7% of votes in “Under the Sea: Marine Marvels”. They are the only herbivorous mammal that spends all their life in the sea.
Mountain pygmy possum (Burramys parvus)
The mountain pygmy possum scaled to second position in “Snow Patrol: Alpine Adventurers”, but still managed to receive enough votes overall to secure its spot in the Top 10! Did you know they hibernate for 5-7 months every year under the snow, during which they lose half of their body weight.
Spectacled flying-fox (Pteropus conspicillatus conspicillatus)
With 27.3% of the support, the spectacled flying-fox is the ultimate “Rainforest Rambler”. They can fly 112 km and spread 60,000 seeds in a single night while foraging for food.
Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus)
The platypus has swum to victory in its category, “City Livin’: Urban Neighbours”, collecting 23.3% of the vote. Males have sharp spurs on their hind feet that are connected to a venom gland in their leg.
Dingo (Canis dingo or Canis familiaris)
Our charismatic but controversial canid made it to the Top 10 with 32.6% of the vote in “Snow Patrol: Alpine Adventurers”.
How does voting work?
“But how does voting work?” you may ask. Don’t worry, it’s super simple.
Voting has now opened for the Top 9 and will be open until 10:00am AEST tomorrow, Wednesday 16 August.
Then, at 12:00pm AEST we’ll announce the mammal that has received the least votes and has been booted out of the running.
We’ll set the tally back to zero and open up voting for the Top 8 anew. Voting will be open for 22 hours, until 12pm AEST the following day. And repeat!
Each day we’ll whittle away at the list of our most marvellous mammals until the Top 3 left standing are announced on Monday 21 August.
After 3 days of voting we’ll finally put the debate to rest for 2023 and crown Australia’s Mammal of the Year on Thursday 24 August!