Numbat population improves amid warning there is a long way to go

Numbats, Western Australia's animal emblem, have been pulled from the brink of extinction after research found the population was growing in the wild.

The numbat population has faced extreme risk for more than 50 years, with research in the late 1970s estimating a total population of 300.

Since being admitted to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN's) Red List's endangered category in 2008, numbers have steadily grown, with the population of mature individuals estimated to be between 2,000 and 3,000.

The species now sits under the near threatened category, the second along the line of global assessment rankings, between least concern and vulnerable.

There are just a handful of locations in the world that wild numbats inhabit, with the Dryandra Woodlands, 171 kilometres south-east of Perth, the most significant.

Perth Zoo science program leader Harriet Mills, who has been heavily involved in numbat rehabilitation, said there was still work to be done.

"The whole of the zoo is just really proud that we've been able to make this contribution," she said.

"It doesn't mean that it's the end of the story for numbats."

Bush Heritage Australia conservation manager Bruce Webber said while the status change was encouraging, conservationists should not take the foot off the pedal.

"It's the equivalent of going from hurtling towards a cliff, about to jump off, then pausing and standing less than a metre from the edge,"

he said.

Keep cats away

The World Wide Fund for Nature has listed habitat loss, fire and introduced species as the main catalyst for the numbat population's decline and says the animals are still extinct in 99 per cent of their previous habitat.

Dr Webber, who is also an executive of the WA feral cats working group, said much more work needed to be done.

"Numbats only survive in these areas because there's a really concerted effort from local groups to suppress foxes and feral cats in these landscapes," he said.

Dr Webber said the simplest way to assist numbat conservation was to contain pet cats.

"Pet cats roam huge distances, particularly in rural areas," he said.

"These pet cats can have major impacts on the local wildlife, and they can quickly roam and get lost and turn into stray and feral cats in a matter of a few kilometres and a few weeks.

"The state government are trying really hard to conserve numbats but is ironically working against itself by not allowing pet cats to be contained."

Conservation efforts

There are a vast number of rehabilitation and assistance programs for endemic species, with Perth Zoo playing a major role in the reintroduction of wild numbats.

The zoo has been operating a numbat breed-for-release program for nearly 30 years, with 325 zoo-born animals released into wild habitats around the country.

Numbats are provided with an environment mimicking the real world where they are fed a termite diet before being released into the wild upon maturity.

Dr Mills said this was the first step in a long process to properly rehabilitate the native species.

"There's still a lot of work to do in terms of protecting their current habitats and still we're trying to make sure that we can establish new populations and maintain the ones we've got," she said.

Exclusion zone fencing, like that used in the Dryandra Woodlands, has also had significant success, with native populations flourishing.

The fencing is dug deep into the ground, and has a lipped top to prevent invasive species climbing over.

While the numbat has been downlisted to near threatened on the IUCN Red List, they are still listed as endangered under Australia's environmental classifications.

Email address