Appearance: Numbats were critically endangered a few years ago, but populations have now increased. They have a look that makes them a very popular animal. Their body is covered in reddish-brown fur, and has white bands running across. They have long bushy tails, that's about the length of their body. Reproduction : Numbats start mating when they reach 11 months. Mating occurs from December to February and 4 young are usually produced. Numbats do not have a pouch, for nurturing their young so the young, born blind and hairless, must simply cling to the belly fur of their mother while feeding from their mothers 4 teats. Diet: A numbat eats termites they have long sticky tongues to catch the termites. Numbats feed almost only on termites, of which they consume about 20,000 per day! they have a long snout and long tongue to get into holes. Numbats eat 10,000 plus termites a day every day. Did you know? Numbats are one of the few marsupials who are active during the day.

Numbats live in woodlands in Western Australia. Numbats prefer areas of open woodland, dominated by Wandoo a type of Eucalyptus (which termites feed on) They require hollow, fallen logs for shelter at night, nesting and protection from predators. The numbat survives in the wild only in a small area of Wandoo (type of woodland and Jarrah forest in the southwest corner of West Australia, (near Narrogin 170 km south east of Perth).

There are three main factors that have contributed to the decline of the Numbat: habitat destruction, introduced predators and fire. The Numbat was widespread throughout the wheat belt of Western Australia until the early 1960s. However, increased clearing of bush for agriculture saw only small areas of vegetation favoured by the Numbat remain in a system of reserves. The primary cause of numbats being endangered is the introduction of non-native species to Australia. Introduced species such as foxes, and feral cats and dogs, pose a considerable threat to the numbat. It is a small, quite defenceless creature, only able to protect itself by hiding in hollow logs.

Numbats are a conservation success story. By 1985, numbats were nearly disappeared that only two numbat populations remained. An effort to increase numbat populations was undertaken that involved the poison baiting of red foxes, a major predator of the numbat. Numbat populations were also moved into other habitats, and numbats that had been raised in captivity were introduced into the wild. All of it has been successful. In 1994, numbats were upgraded from Endangered to a conservation status of Vulnerable.

Numbat Numbat This is a production of Aaron Smith corporation

This is a product of Aaron Smith corporation