Understanding and protecting Australia’s iconic marsupial

The numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus) is an iconic, Australian endemic marsupial. Prior to European settlement, 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. By the 1970s, numbats had disappeared from most of their range (99%), surviving only in small areas of southwest Australia. Sadly, this means they’re now considered endangered.

Widespread clearing of prime numbat habitat and predation by feral predators have been the main drivers of their decline.

The Upper Warren region in south Western Australia supports the largest remaining population of endangered numbats and is one of only two natural populations remaining in the world. While we believe there may be less than 1,000 animals alive today, having a more accurate population count, and determining their distribution and addressing why they are declining, is critical to their future survival.

The species is listed as endangered under The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, as endangered under the Australian Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, and as ‘endangered fauna that is rare or is likely to become extinct’ under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (WA).

The research project

"Numbat Discovery" is part of a joint PhD project with Murdoch University and the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. It aims to improve the understanding of the numbat population in the Upper Warren Region to inform management for the conservation and recovery of the species. The objectives are to develop robust survey methods to define the range, estimate population density and abundance and monitor population trends of the Upper Warren numbat population.

This PhD project takes a multi-stage adaptive approach, where initial results will inform final survey design. Stage two will implement survey methods developed during the first stage to determine the numbat’s range within the Upper Warren Region, and to estimate numbat density and absolute abundance. Finally a long-term monitoring program will be established that will assist in understanding if management actions are effective and numbats are on the increase. The project also aims to vastly improve our understanding of the many other animals sharing the same forests and woodlands.

This project is part of a larger initiative, the South West Threatened Fauna Recovery Project: Southern Jarrah Forest, which is being led by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions with support from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.

Numbat Discovery - How you can help

Fifty independent camera-traps have been installed along each of three transects (i.e. a total of 150kms). Once triggered by movement, the cameras take 10 images in a row. This gives us the best opportunity to see the animal (and importantly numbat stripes to potentially distinguish individuals!). It also means that we have a lot of photos to process! Zooniverse users help us to make sense of all the photos by classifying the type and number of animals in each photo. The Upper Warren Region in which these surveys are being done is extremely important for the conservation of many other Australian native species too, including several threatened mammals such as the woylie, western ringtail possum and chuditch. From western pygmy possums and mardo to phascogales and numbats, see what wildlife you can spot living in the Upper Warren Region! Share your favourites and join the discussion about what you are observing along the way.