Zookeepers and conservation officers spent seven nights donning head lamps and winter warmers to check on the progress of the bilbies in what is normally a hands-off, 110 hectare predator-proof sanctuary.

The health check allowed the experts to assess the health of the bilbies to see how successful the population was, their weight and if they had reproduced.

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"In a great indication of the population health in our sanctuary and even greater news for the recovery of this critical Australian species, almost all the females checked had joeys in their pouches and all individuals that we health checked were in great body condition," greater bilby keeper Steve Kleinig said.

In collaboration with the Australian Wildlife Conservancy, in the coming weeks more than 30 bilbies from the Dubbo sanctuary will be translocated to the Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary. It's the second release of bilbies since the program started.

Australian Wildlife Conservancy wildlife ecologist Kirsten Skinner said the bilbies would be able to reestablish their presence in the semi-arid region and help secure the future of the threatened species.

Until recently bilbies had been extinct in the wild.

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