This solitary creature is usually active by day, bumbling through the brush with bushy tail held high and pointed snout snuffling the ground in search of food. Numbats eat only ants and termites they catch by using their very long, sticky tongues. A numbat can eat as many as 10,000 ants and termites each day. Numbats prefer open woodland habitat dominated by eucalyptus trees. They are nimble and can leap and even climb trees.
Numbats require hollow, fallen logs for shelter and nesting.
Causes of Endangerment Habitat Loss and Introduced Species Numbats have declined drastically since the first European settlers arrived in Australia just 200 years ago. Their habitat has been cleared for agriculture and destroyed by brush fires. Hunting or harassing them is illegal under Australian law. Captive Breeding A breeding colony of numbats is maintained at Wanneroo, West Australia. It is unlikely, however, that captive breeding is a solution to the numbat's decline in the wild because numbats reproduce slowly and there are so few captive animals.