It digs them up from loose earth with its front claws and captures them with its long, sticky tongue. Saving wildlife together: As part of our Native Species Breeding Program, Perth Zoo has been breeding Numbats for release into protected habitats. [citation needed], The numbat is a small, colourful creature between 35 and 45 centimetres (14 and 18 in) long, including the tail, with a finely pointed muzzle and a prominent, bushy tail about the same length as its body. They are able to produce a second if the first is lost. Females are sexually mature by the following summer, but males do not reach maturity for another year. Uniquely among terrestrial mammals, an additional cheek tooth is located between the premolars and molars; whether this represents a supernumerary molar tooth or a deciduous tooth retained into adult life is unclear. The numbat is a small, colourful creature between 35 and 45 centimetres long, including the tail, with a finely pointed muzzle and a prominent, bushy tail about the same length as its body. The Numbat is a small, colourful creature between 35 and 45 cm long, including the tail, with a finely pointed muzzle and a prominent, bushy tail about the same length as its body.
Nine endangered Numbats born at Perth Zoo were fitted with radio collars today to prepare for their release into the wild. FAUNA PROFILE – Numbat Myrmecobius fasciatus Continued fox and feral cat control, and monitor to determine effectiveness. A. Hayward, M. W., Poh, A. S., Cathcart, J., Churcher, C., Bentley, J., Herman, K., . (2015). The deliberate release of the European red fox in the 19th century, however, is presumed to have wiped out the entire numbat population in Victoria, NSW, South Australia and the Northern Territory, and almost all numbats in Western Australia. George Fletcher Moore, who was a member of the expedition, recounted the discovery: "Saw a beautiful animal; but, as it escaped into the hollow of a tree, could not ascertain whether it was a species of squirrel, weasel, or wild cat...", "chased another little animal, such as had escaped from us yesterday, into a hollow tree, where we captured it; from the length of its tongue, and other circumstances, we conjecture that it is an ant-eater—its colour yellowish, barred with black and white streaks across the hinder part of the back; its length about twelve inches."[25]. The only marsupial fully active by day, the numbat spends most of its time searching for termites. An adult Numbat requires up to 20,000 termites each day. Perth Zoo is very closely involved in breeding this native species in captivity for release into the wild. Unusually among marsupials, female numbats have no pouch, although the four teats are protected by a patch of crimped, golden hair and by the swelling of the surrounding abdomen and thighs during lactation.