Baby bilby needs a name
ONE OF TWO baby bilbies born in December 2014 is still yet to be named, and Taronga Zoo are looking for help.
The public naming competition kicked off this week and Taronga are looking for an Aussie name that complements sister ‘Tanami’, named by keepers after the Tanami Desert.
“We’ll be looking for a very Australian name, but not ‘Bruce’ or ‘Sheila’,” joked Bilby Keeper, Paul Davies.
“It would be wonderful to find a name that reflects this beautiful Bilby’s natural habitat, which has sadly declined due to the introduction of farm animals and predators such as feral foxes and cats,” he added.
The bilbies had their first comprehensive health check last week and zoo staff determined that both were female. They live in the enclosure with mother Yajala and are the first bilby joeys to be born at the zoo.
The two bilby joey females (Credit: Robert Dockerill/Taronga Zoo)
Bilby numbers have declined dramatically in the past 200 years due to habitat destruction and predators.
The Bilby exhibit was opened in April 2014 by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and named in honour of their son, Prince George.
