ABOUT NUMBATS

The baby Numbat you are going to create is one of my “Sleeping Aussie Babies.” This is a series of endangered or extinct iconic Australian creatures made into adorable beginners Feltorials.

The Numbat (myrmecobius fasciatus), also known as the Banded Ant Eater and Walpurti, has an endangered status.

They rarely live past 5 years. Females can reproduce at 12 months however males take 2 years to sexually mature.

 Females give birth to 4 young typically in January-February after a short 14 day gestation. This is the shortest of any mammal.

Numbats, like all Dasyurids (carnivorous marsupials) do not have a true pouch, but rather a skin fold that covers the babies that are suckling on the mothers 4 teats. Long guard hairs protect them and offer some warmth. Other than babies, Numbats are solitary creatures.

The underdeveloped joeys must travel up to the mother’s nipples and attach permanently for 6-7 months. For this reason baby Numbats have a flat stubby snout so it can stay close to the nipple easily. Later on as they start to forage for termites their noses become pointy.

Numbats have more teeth than any other animal. Ironically they are all blunt stubs as they don’t use them. Each Numbat eats around 20,000 termites a day and don’t need to ‘drink’ water as they get enough moisture from the ants.

Numbats once lived across Australia but are now isolated to only 2 natural populations. One is at Dryandra Woodlands, near Narrogin WA and the other is at Perup Nature Reserve, near Manjimup. My home town. There are fewer than 1,000 left in the wild, that’s less then the number of Orangutans in Sumatra and Giant Pandas in Asia.

The Numbat is Western Australia's State Emblem and we need to be more aware of them so we can protect them from foxes, feral cats, loss of habitat and more.

Reena Lee Creations supports local wildlife organizations.