Move over Easter Bunny!

from w
Much as I sometimese frown at the abundance of chocolate eggs and Easter bunnies at this time of year, I know this Easter custom brings lots of enjoyment for the children, but hey, move over Easter Bunny and make way for the Australian bilby. Lately the little marsupial - like a big-eared rat and vulnerable has been the new icon for Easter animalia.

(notes from a kids internet site:)
A bilby is a kind of bandicoot. It has a black tail with a white tip. Bilbies eat insects and fruit. They have with greyish fur and ears a bit like a rabbit's.
Some people say Easter Bilby brings Easter eggs in Australia, not Easter Bunny!
The Greater Bilby is a small Australian marsupial. It is a kind of bandicoot.
It is also known as the Rabbit-eared Bandicoot, Greater Bandicoot, or Dalgite.
Habitat and Distribution (where they are found) The Greater Bilby is found in small, scattered spots in the Tanami Desert in the Northern Territory, and in the Great Sandy Desert, Pilbara and Kimberley areas of Western Australia. These are hot, dry areas of Australia. The Bilby's habitat is spinifex, or grass shrubland.
Diet - Because there is little surface water in places where bilbies live, the animals get their moisture from their food. They eat insects such as termites, as well as seeds, fruit and fungi.
---
Well, they do look odd but I guess their mothers do love 'em.