An adult numbat requires up to 20,000 termites each day. Colour varies considerably, from soft grey to reddish-brown, often with an area of brick red on the upper back, and always with a conspicuous black stripe running from the tip of the muzzle through the eyes to the bases of the small, round-tipped ears. For this reason, numbats are also diurnal in order to be able to feed upon termites in the shallow galleries. Yes! Numbats are apparently able to gain a considerable amount of water from their diets, since their kidneys lack the usual specialisations for retaining water found in other animals living in their arid environment. Numbats are insectivores and subsist on a diet of termites. [14] Numbats also possess a sternal scent gland, which may be used for marking their territories. The numbat is able to block the opening of its nest, with the thick hide of its rump, to prevent a predator being able to access the burrow. The numbat once populated much of southern semi-arid and arid Australia, extending from the west coast to northwest Victoria and western New South Wales. An intensive research and conservation program since 1980 has succeeded in increasing the numbat population substantially, and reintroductions to fox-free areas have begun. Her length is about 20-27cm. The numbat is an insectivore (specialist insect eater) that feeds on various termite species. One numbat eats as many as 15,000 - 20,000 termites a day, thus controlling termite populations of the area and thus benefiting the local ecosystem. Ewww! AWC protects Numbat populations within feral predator-free areas at Yookamurra (SA), Mt Gibson (WA), Scotia (NSW) and Mallee Cliffs (NSW). Presence of hollow wandoo logs on the ground is an important life condition for these animals, since these logs provide them with reliable shelter and constant source of food (they eat termites, found on wandoo trees). Hayward, M. W., Poh, A. S., Cathcart, J., Churcher, C., Bentley, J., Herman, K., . The Numbat eats termites exclusively. 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."[26]. Babies also vocalize to their mothers by making a soft clicking sound but this is different to males’ calls. The numbat, or banded anteater ( Myrmecobius fasciatus ). They don’t eat any meat. [3], The species is not closely related to other extant marsupials; the current arrangement in the order Dasyuromorphia places its monotypic family with the diverse and carnivorous species of Dasyuridae. Despite also being known as the banded anteater, the numbat only eats ants by accident. Since 2006, Project Numbat volunteers have helped to save the Numbat from extinction. So it can eat the termites without the termites gnawing at the numbats mouth, it has 52 teeth! At night, the numbat retreats to a nest, which can be in a log or tree hollow, or in a burrow, typically a narrow shaft 1–2 m long which terminates in a spherical chamber lined with soft plant material: grass, leaves, flowers, and shredded bark. It is a secondary consumer because it does not eat plants. The numbat first became known to Europeans in 1831. Since numbats are not capable of destroying termite mounds, they find out secret entrances, waiting there and catching termites as soon as they appear. 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