Numbat survival boosted by joint project
FAME is working with the Arid Recovery Program to establish a colony of endangered Numbats (Myrmecobius fasciatus) in the Arid Recovery protected area north-west of Adelaide. 20 Numbats will be transported from Scotia Sanctuary in NSW, and they are part of a long-term plan to restore original wildlife to arid South Australia. Species like Bilbies, Boodies and Stick-nest Rats are already thriving there, and the return of the Numbat is very important to the success of the project.
Two hundred years ago the Numbat lived across most of southern Australia. The species declined drastically following colonisation and the introduction of the European fox. It completely disappeared from NSW, Victoria and South Australia, and was confined to a few small pockets in the south-west of Western Australia. In 1982 it was named the world's most endangered mammal.
Active intervention in Western Australia by the Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM) saved the Numbat from total extinction.
In 1993 FAME helped Earth Sanctuaries and CALM establish a colony of Numbats in the South Australia's Murray Mallee. The same team returned the Numbat to outback NSW in 1999. Building on these successes, FAME will now help return the Numbat to arid South Australia.
The Numbat now has a real chance to escape extinction.
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