Numbat

Quick Take

• The numbat shares a surprising genetic connection with a creature scientists are trying to bring back from extinction. Discover the genetic link →
• This marsupial devours an almost unbelievable number of termites daily, and it manages to do so without ever chewing a single one. See the termite diet →
• Numbat pups are born with a nose shaped completely differently from an adult's, and this change happens for a functional reason. Learn about pup development →
• Once spread across an entire continent, the numbat now clings to survival in one small corner of Australia, with fewer animals remaining than you would expect. See the population numbers →

A numbat is a marsupial found in the western part of Australia. This small mammal uses its long, sticky tongue to capture termites that live underground. It hunts for termites by day and sleeps at night, making its home in hollow logs and burrows. Once widespread across southern Australia, the numbat is found in the wild only in Western Australia, where it is the state animal. It is near threatened, and today there are only around 2,000 to 2,500 numbats outside of captivity.

3 Fun Facts About the Numbat

• The numbat’s only source of food is termites.
• Numbats communicate with one another by making soft clicking noises.
• Numbats have dull, peg-like teeth and don’t chew the termites before swallowing.

Evolution and History

According to genetic studies, the numbat’s ancestors separated from other marsupials sometime during the late Eocene Epoch between 42 million and 32 million years ago.

European settlers in Australia first came across the numbat in 1831 while exploring the Avon Valley in Western Australia. George Robert Waterhouse first classified specimens in 1836. The numbat was part of John Gould’s acclaimed work “The Mammals of Australia”, published in multiple volumes between 1845 and 1863.

Numbats share a common ancestor with the native carnivorous marsupial, the thylacine — one that was alive 35 million to 41 million years ago, also known as the Tasmanian tiger, which became extinct in the 1930s. Scientists believe 95% of the DNA of the numbat and the thylacine may be identical and are using the numbat’s genome in efforts to recreate the thylacine’s genetic sequence, offering the possibility of reintroducing this species into Australia.

Classification and Scientific Name

The numbat’s scientific name is Myrmecobius fasciatus. Myrmex means ant, bios refers to life, and fasciatus translates as striped. It belongs to the Myrmecobiidae family, which is part of the order of Australian marsupial carnivores, Dasyuromorphia, and its class is Mammalia.

The common name numbat originated with the indigenous people in the York and Toodyay districts located east of Perth. The mammal is called the “Walpurti” in the Pitjantjatjara dialect of the desert language groups living in parts of Western Australia, South Australia, and the Northern Territory.

While the numbat is not an anteater, other names for the animal are the banded anteater or the marsupial anteater.

There are two subspecies of this marsupial: Myrmecobius fasciatus rufus and Myrmecobius fasciatus fasciatus. Myrmecobius fasciatus fasciatus is the surviving subspecies.

Myrmecobius fasciatus rufus has been extinct since the 1960s. It lived in South Australia’s arid central regions and had a more red-colored coat than Myrmecobius fasciatus fasciatus. There have only been a small number of this numbat’s fossils discovered, with the oldest dating back to the Pleistocene, commonly called the Ice Age, 11,700 to 2,580,000 years ago.

Appearance and Behavior

A numbat’s coat is a mixture of reddish-brown with black and white stripes on its back and a small black stripe over each of its dark eyes. Its ears are thin and pointy. Its slim body is about 8 to 11 inches long (an 11-inch-long numbat is just shy of the length of a standard ruler).

A numbat’s bushy tail measures 4 to 8 inches long. Some people compare the appearance of a numbat’s tail to that of an Eastern gray squirrel. Adult male and female numbats typically weigh between 0.66 and 1.57 lbs (300 to 715 grams), or roughly two-thirds of a pound to just over one pound.

Due to its long nose and tongue, the numbat has been compared to the anteater, which also eats thousands of insects for nourishment. These mammals don’t have sharp teeth like other carnivores do. Instead, they have teeth that look like pegs with dull edges. However, as numbats don’t chew the termites they capture, there is no need for them to have sharp teeth that can cut through meat.

The brownish-red coat of a numbat helps it to blend into its forest environment when predators are around. Also, their eyes are on the sides of their head so they can see danger in time to seek protection inside a log or in a burrow. Numbats are fast and can scurry up a tree using their long claws to grip the bark and escape a predator. In fact, numbats can move up to 20 miles per hour when fleeing danger.

Adult numbats are solitary animals. This is largely because they need to eat large quantities of termites to maintain their energy levels. Living alone means they don’t have to compete with a group of numbats for food. One of the few times you’ll see numbats together is during the breeding season. Also, baby numbats live together for a while until they are ready to leave their nest and set out on their own. If numbats ever choose to gather together, the group is called a colony or a cloud.

Generally, numbats are not aggressive animals. They are alert and ready to freeze or run at the first sign of danger. However, two males can show aggression toward one another when competing for a female during the breeding season.

Habitat

Numbats once lived in areas of southern Australia, as well as New South Wales and Victoria. Now, their territory is in the southwestern part of western Australia in the eucalypt woodlands.

Dryandra Woodlands close to Narrogin and Perup Nature Reserve next to Manjinup are two places where you’ll see numbats. In eucalypt woodlands there are large groups of trees, but there’s enough space for sunlight to filter through to warm the ground. This is important because termites don’t become active when the ground is cold. The climate is dry and temperate in these woodlands.

Diet

A numbat’s diet consists exclusively of termites. If they happen to eat an ant or another type of insect, it’s because the trespassing insect was in the way when the numbat’s tongue was grabbing for termites underground. Numbats eat 20,000 termites per day. Eating 20,000 termites amounts to one-tenth of a numbat’s own body weight.

Numbats are active whenever termites are active. So, in the summertime, when the sun warms the ground in the morning, stirring up the termites, numbats will be out looking for them. In the wintertime, when the sun is at its hottest during midday, the termites are active, and so are the numbats. Numbats use their sense of smell to find termites underground. Also, some scientists believe numbats can feel the vibrations of termite activity as they walk along the forest floor.

Numbats get a supply of water from the termites they eat. This has helped them adapt to the dry environment they live in.

Predators and Threats

Numbats have numerous predators. They are eaten by birds of prey in the area such as falcons, wedge-tailed eagles, and collared sparrowhawks. Also, they are prey to carpet pythons, goannas, and other reptiles. Foxes and feral cats hunt for numbats as well.

The habitat of numbats is threatened by people building houses and the expansion of farmland. Cutting down and removing trees from the area where numbats live takes away their shelter as well as their food source. Bushfires also destroy the trees, taking away shelter from numbats.

The wild population of numbats is estimated at around 1,000. This is due to all of their predators as well as environmental threats. The numbat’s official conservation status is Near Threatened. This has put them on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Numbats are protected under Australian law. As a result, there are penalties for hunting or capturing them for any reason.

Fortunately, there are sanctuaries where people care for numbats to increase the overall population. Two of these sanctuaries are Scotia Sanctuary and Yookamurra Sanctuary in Australia.

Reproduction, Babies, and Lifespan

The mating season of the numbat goes from December to January. A male numbat uses a smelly substance from its sternal gland to mark logs in its territory to let females know it is searching for a mate. A numbat mates with several females during this time. The gestation period of a numbat is just 14 days. This is one of the shortest gestation periods for any mammal. The female numbat gives live birth to 4 pups that each weigh less than one gram.

After they are born, the numbat pups attach themselves to their mother to nurse. She carries them along on her chest until they are about 6 months old. A mother numbat has small folds of skin on her chest to protect the pups as she moves up trees and over the ground. There are even small hairs called guard hairs inside the skin folds to keep the pups warm. These skin folds function similarly to a kangaroo’s pouch.

Another adaptation of a numbat pup relates to its nose. A numbat pup has a flat, short nose that allows it to easily nurse for several months. After a pup reaches the point where it begins to eat termites, it develops the long, pointy nose seen on adult numbats. When the pups are 6 months old, the mother detaches them from her body partly because they are now too heavy to carry along with her. She leaves the pups in a hollow log or a burrow where she will visit to nurse them each day.

When they are 8 or 9 months old, the pups leave the burrow for periods of time to practice capturing termites. When a numbat pup reaches 1 year old, it leaves the burrow to find a home and start life on its own.

Male and female numbats in the wild live for an average of 5 years. Numbats living a protected life in a sanctuary can sometimes live for 8 years. A numbat’s life can be cut short if it is injured and the wound becomes infected. Also, these marsupials are vulnerable to parasites that can cause disease.

Population

The total population of numbats is between 2,000 and 3,000. The official status of the numbat is Near Threatened. Numbats are now a protected species, and the population is now stable.

However, steps are being taken to increase the number of numbats in Australia. The Perth Zoo is breeding numbats and releasing young ones into the wild. Also, there are protected areas such as Mt. Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary where numbats can breed and remain safe from predators, including foxes and feral cats.