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Numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus)

The numbat is a small, strictly diurnal marsupial that feeds almost exclusively on termites. It now persists mainly in south-west Western Australia, with reintroduced populations in protected areas in Western Australia, South Australia and New South Wales. Clearing, removal of hollow logs, altered fire regimes and introduced predators can quickly reduce the habitat and shelter available on development sites.

Conservation status

Commonwealth, EPBC Act 1999: Endangered.

South Australia, National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972: Endangered.

Western Australia, Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016: Endangered.

Northern Territory, Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1976: Endangered.

Breeding season

The timing below combines the main breeding sequence and seasonal activity pattern described for populations in Australia. Exact dates vary between sources and sites, so field teams should check local recovery program information where available.

The supplied sources do not define a single national clearing risk window. Before works, survey suitable habitat for daytime animals, active burrows, hollow logs, termite diggings and other signs, with particular care during the breeding and dependent young periods.

  • Breeding: Mating is mainly in January, with breeding accounts also placing mating or births in February and March. Births are usually in summer and may occur as late as April.
  • Young attached or in nest: Young remain attached to the female for up to about six months. They are generally placed in a burrow or hollow log around July, then begin emerging in September.
  • Juvenile emergence and dispersal: Juveniles emerge from the nest in September, forage independently by October and may disperse by December. Movements of up to 15 km have been observed.
  • Adult daily activity: Numbats are active during the day throughout the year. In winter they are most active during warmer middle day periods, while in summer they forage mainly in the morning and late afternoon and shelter during heat.
  • Highest clearing risk: Risk is highest from January to April during mating, births and early dependent young, and again from July to October when young are placed in nests, emerge and begin independent foraging. Clearing can damage occupied refuges and termite habitat in any month.

Identification

Numbats are distinctive small marsupials with a pointed muzzle, a bushy tail and strong banding across the rump. They are most likely to be detected during daytime searches, or from their characteristic termite foraging diggings and shelter sites.

The upper body is reddish brown to grey brown, with a conspicuous dark stripe running from the muzzle through the eyes towards the ears. The rump has four to eleven pale transverse bands separated by darker, often black, bands. The underside is cream to off white, and the tail is long, bushy and often white tipped. The individual band pattern can be used to identify animals.

The muzzle is narrow and pointed. The tongue is long and sticky and can extend at least 5 cm beyond the nose, with other accounts reporting an exposed tongue length of about 10 to 11 cm. The species has 50 to 52 poorly developed teeth, many of which do not project beyond the gums.

Head and body: 20 to 25 cm

Tail: 15 to 18 cm

Body mass: About 300 to 750 g

Diagnostic pattern: Dark eye stripe and individually variable white and black rump bands

Identification: Sex and behaviour

Males are generally slightly heavier than females. Adults are solitary and individuals of the same sex defend exclusive home ranges. Numbats are active in daylight, which separates them from most other small and medium sized Australian mammals likely to occur in the same woodland.

Typical home range: About 25 to 50 ha in the general species accounts, with some profiles reporting territories up to 1.5 km²

Activity period: Daytime only

  • Search warm parts of the day, especially when termite activity is likely.
  • Treat a small, striped mammal seen moving in daylight through open woodland as a possible numbat until excluded by an experienced observer.
  • Do not rely on spotlighting or eyeshine surveys, because the species normally shelters at night.

Identification: Field signs

Numbat diggings are usually small conical excavations associated with ant nests, termite runways or shallow termite galleries. Diggings alone do not confirm the species, because other mammals can make similar conical holes. Record their size, position, associated tracks, scats, termite signs and nearby shelter features, then use direct observation or other targeted methods to confirm presence.

Night refuges may include active burrows, hollow logs and tree hollows. An active burrow can have freshly moved soil, tracks or scats near the entrance. Numbat vocalisations are limited and are not a reliable primary survey method; reported sounds include hissing, growling and a repetitive tut sound.

  • Map every suspected numbat digging and shelter site before clearing or ground disturbance.
  • Inspect hollow logs, tree hollows and burrows in and beside proposed work areas.
  • Use experienced personnel to distinguish numbat diggings from rabbit and other mammal diggings.
  • Do not treat the absence of tracks, scats or diggings as proof that a site is unused.

Distribution: National range

The numbat formerly occupied a broad belt across southern and semi arid Australia. Its current distribution is highly fragmented, with the remaining free living populations concentrated in south-west Western Australia and additional reintroduced populations in fenced or managed areas.

The former range extended from south-western Western Australia through the southern arid and semi arid zone to South Australia, the southern Northern Territory, western New South Wales and north western Victoria. Historical records covered 11 Australian bioregions, but the species became extinct across all but one broad part of its former range before reintroductions were established.

Current free living populations are concentrated in south-west Western Australia. Reintroduced populations occur at several Western Australian sites and in safe havens in South Australia and New South Wales. The species is presumed extinct in the wild in New South Wales and extinct in the Northern Territory.

  • Western Australia: Dryandra Woodland, the Upper Warren and Perup area, Boyagin, Batalling, Tutanning, Dragon Rocks and other reintroduced sites.
  • South Australia: Yookamurra Sanctuary and other former or proposed safe haven sites.
  • New South Wales: Scotia Sanctuary, where the population is fenced and reintroduced.
  • Northern Territory: formerly present in the far south-west, including areas now within or near Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park, but now extinct there.
  • Victoria: formerly present in north-western Victoria, with no current population identified in the supplied sources.

Distribution: Strongholds and subpopulations

The Upper Warren, including Perup, is the largest reported Western Australian population and includes original habitat. Dryandra Woodland is another original population, although it has experienced long term decline and recent fluctuation. Boyagin and Batalling support self sustaining reintroduced populations. Tutanning and Dragon Rocks have persisted at lower numbers, while the status of Stirling Range and Cocanarup has been uncertain or possibly extinct in the most recent cited assessments.

Scotia and Yookamurra are fenced populations. Scotia increased substantially during the period covered by the 2018 scorecard, while Yookamurra was described as stable.

2018 estimated mature individuals: About 1,365 across the assessed wild and reintroduced population, including fenced populations, with medium confidence.

2018 unfenced population: About 615 individuals in the scorecard estimate.

2018 fenced population: About 750 individuals in five fenced locations in the scorecard estimate.

Upper Warren: Probably 200 to 500 individuals in the 2017 conservation advice.

Dryandra Woodland: A maximum estimate of about 80 adults in 2016.

Boyagin: About 50 to 70 adults in 2016.

Batalling: About 50 to 100 adults in the cited assessments.

Distribution: Site assessment implication

A record outside the currently recognised strongholds can still be important because the species is being translocated to former range and some populations are enclosed in safe havens. Check current state databases, recent recovery program records and the project area habitat before concluding that a record is unexpected.

  • Treat a confirmed record, fresh digging associated with termite activity, or an occupied refuge as a high priority fauna constraint.
  • Include nearby connected woodland, fallen timber and termite foraging areas in the assessment, not only the point where an animal was seen.

Habitat: Habitat types

Numbats use dry woodland, forest, shrubland and arid habitats where termites are accessible and refuge sites are available. Habitat suitability depends on both the food resource and the retention of hollow logs, tree hollows, burrows and ground cover.

The original habitat included eucalypt woodland and forest in south-west Western Australia, Acacia aneura, or mulga, woodland, sand plains and sand dunes in the arid zone, and Triodia spinifex hummock grassland. In central Australia, records were associated with sand plains, lateritic plains and vegetated dunes.

Remaining Western Australian populations occur mainly in eucalypt forests and woodlands, including communities dominated by jarrah, marri and wandoo. Numbats also use open areas near shrub cover, where sunlight warms the soil and supports termite activity.

South-western communities: Eucalypt forests and woodlands, including jarrah, marri and wandoo communities

Arid communities: Mulga woodland, spinifex hummock grassland, sand plains, lateritic plains and vegetated dunes

Moisture and temperature: Sites that are too wet or too cold for termites are unsuitable according to the habitat account

Habitat: Structural features

Important habitat features include mature and fallen trees, hollow logs, tree hollows, loose soil containing shallow termite galleries, shrub cover and unburnt ground cover. Fallen timber provides both refuge and substrate for termites. Fragmented remnants may be too small to support a viable subpopulation and may expose animals to higher predation from raptors.

  • Retain hollow logs, standing hollow trees, fallen timber, shrub cover and termite affected soil wherever practicable.
  • Assess woodland remnants and connected habitat beyond the clearing footprint.
  • Avoid assuming that cleared ground is low value if it lies beside sheltering timber or contains termite foraging signs.
  • Record recently burnt areas separately from unburnt shelter habitat.

Habitat: Elevation and climate

The supplied sources describe broad climatic and habitat settings but do not provide a reliable elevation range. Activity changes seasonally with temperature because numbats follow termites in the shallow soil layer: they generally feed during warmer daylight hours in winter and during cooler morning and late afternoon periods in summer.

Foraging habitat: Food and feeding method

Numbats are specialist termite feeders. They locate shallow termite galleries by smell, excavate them with the forefeet and collect termites with a long sticky tongue.

The diet consists almost entirely of termites. Ants may be swallowed incidentally while feeding on termites, but they are not a regular food item. An adult may require about 15,000 to 20,000 termites each day and generally obtains sufficient water from its prey.

Numbats cannot break into hard termite mounds. They instead target termites in shallow, unfortified underground galleries between nests and feeding areas, as well as accessible cavities in loose soil, logs and leaf litter.

Main prey: Termites

Daily intake: About 15,000 to 20,000 termites for an adult

Food detection: Primarily by smell, followed by excavation with the forefeet

Capture method: Long sticky tongue

  • Search for shallow excavations, termite runways, termite galleries and disturbed soil around logs.
  • Retain termite bearing soil, fallen timber and leaf litter where they occur within or beside the work area.
  • Avoid prolonged disturbance of active termite foraging areas during daytime work.

Foraging habitat: Foraging area

Adults are solitary and need a substantial area in which to find dispersed termite galleries. The general home range is reported as 25 to 50 ha, while a New South Wales profile reports territories of up to 1.5 km². Males may travel beyond their usual range during the breeding period.

Reported home range: 25 to 50 ha in general species accounts

Larger territory estimate: Up to 1.5 km² in the NSW profile

Daily timing: Winter, mainly mid morning to mid afternoon. Summer, early morning and late afternoon, with shelter during the hottest part of the day

  • Consider the wider foraging area around a record, not only the immediate digging or sighting location.
  • Map the relationship between open foraging ground, shrub cover, fallen timber and mature trees.
  • Maintain movement opportunities between suitable woodland patches where the project design allows.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

Breeding is strongly seasonal. Females need secure hollow logs, tree hollows or burrows near suitable termite foraging habitat because young remain attached for months and are later left in a nest.

Mating occurs in summer, mainly from January to March. Gestation is about 14 to 15 days. Females usually produce one litter of four young, although a second litter may be possible if the first is lost. Numbats have no conventional pouch. The young attach to the mother's nipples and grip the crimped hair around the mammary area.

Young remain attached for about six months. They are generally placed in a burrow or hollow log around July, begin emerging in September and forage independently by October. Females can breed in their first year, while males generally mature in their second year.

Breeding season: Mating mainly January to March, with births usually in summer and occasionally as late as April

Litter size: Usually four young

Gestation: About 14 to 15 days

Young attached to mother: Up to about six months

Females mature: About one year old

Males mature: About two years old

Lifespan: Usually no more than five years

Generation length: About two years

Breeding habitat: Breeding habitat features

Breeding females require a secure nest site close enough to termite foraging habitat for repeated feeding trips. Suitable sites include hollow logs, tree hollows and narrow burrows lined with grass, leaves, flowers, bark or other plant material. Burrows used for young may be about 1 to 2 m long and end in a chamber.

  • Inspect and retain potential nest logs and burrows before vegetation removal or earthworks.
  • Protect shelter sites and the surrounding termite foraging area during the breeding and dependent young period.
  • If a female with attached young or a nest containing young is found, stop disturbance around the site and obtain species specific advice before proceeding.

Sheltering habitat: Refuge types

Numbats shelter at night and during the hottest part of summer days. Refuges are particularly important because the species is exposed to native predators during daylight and has limited protection from introduced foxes and cats.

Night refuges include hollow logs, tree hollows and self excavated burrows. Numbats may line burrow chambers with shredded grass, bark, leaves and flowers. A burrow can be a narrow shaft about 1 to 2 m long ending in a chamber. The species can use the thick skin of its rump to help block a burrow entrance.

Hollow logs also provide shelter, nesting sites and access to termites. Removal of dead wood can therefore remove both refuge and food resources.

Burrow length: Typically about 1 to 2 m

Shelter sites: Hollow logs, tree hollows and burrows

Nest material: Grass, leaves, flowers and shredded bark

  • Retain fallen hollow logs, large woody debris, standing hollow trees and suitable burrows.
  • Search the ground and bases of trees for active burrows before clearing, trenching or vehicle access.
  • Keep refuge features connected to shrub cover and termite foraging areas where practicable.
  • Do not collect firewood from occupied or potentially suitable numbat habitat.

Sheltering habitat: Signs of occupancy

Active shelter sites may show fresh soil, tracks or scats around the entrance. A burrow used for young may be occupied after the young are placed there in about July, with juveniles beginning to emerge around September. A site can remain important even when no animal is visible during a daytime inspection.

  • Mark potential shelter sites on project plans and exclude them from machinery access until assessed.
  • Use daytime searches for animals, burrows, hollow logs and foraging signs. The species is not suited to standard nocturnal spotlighting as its normal activity is diurnal.
  • Treat removal or collapse of a hollow log or burrow as a potential direct impact, even if the animal is not seen.

Threats: Clearing and fragmentation

The highest risks to numbats are introduced predator predation, habitat clearing and fragmentation, inappropriate fire and loss of dead wood. Development can combine several of these pressures by removing woodland, increasing edges, disrupting shelter and exposing animals to vehicles and predators.

Clearing removes termite foraging areas, mature trees, hollow logs, shrub cover and burrows. Many vegetation remnants are too small to support viable subpopulations, and isolation can reduce movement and genetic exchange. Fragmented remnants may also increase raptor exposure because predators can hunt from adjacent cleared land.

  • Avoid clearing within occupied or potentially suitable woodland, especially around hollow logs, termite signs and active burrows.
  • Retain connected strips of woodland and avoid creating narrow isolated remnants where design options allow.
  • Stage vegetation removal so fauna spotters can inspect shelter features and foraging signs immediately before works.
  • Do not assume a small remnant has low conservation value because numbats naturally occur at low density.

Threats: Fire and dead wood removal

Frequent and intense fires can kill numbats, remove ground cover and hollow logs, reduce termite resources and increase exposure to predators. Firewood collection removes dead wood that provides both termite substrate and shelter. Fire effects are site specific, but the supplied conservation advice identifies altered fire regimes as a continuing threat.

  • Retain fallen timber and hollow logs in place.
  • Plan burns and firebreaks around known habitat with advice from the relevant land manager and species recovery program.
  • Avoid piling or burning hollow logs and coarse woody debris within habitat.
  • Inspect recently burnt areas for surviving shelter sites and signs before further disturbance.

Threats: Predators and other pressures

Red foxes and feral cats are the main direct threats. Fox control was followed by rapid increases at Dryandra and expansion in the Upper Warren, while feral cats became the main predator at Dryandra during the 2011 to 2012 research period. Native raptors, goannas and carpet pythons also prey on numbats, but the species has evolved with these predators.

The supplied documents do not identify disease or hydrology change as established major threats to numbats. Roads are also not listed as a primary threat in the supplied conservation documents, but vehicle movement can still harm a diurnal, ground dwelling animal using access tracks and habitat edges.

Introduced predators: Red foxes and feral cats

Native predators recorded: Wedge tailed eagles, brown falcons, little eagles, brown goshawks, Gould's monitors and carpet pythons

Disease evidence in supplied sources: No specific disease threat identified

Hydrology evidence in supplied sources: No specific hydrology change threat identified

  • Maintain predator control around occupied populations and prevent construction activity from creating unmanaged refuge or rubbish that could support predators.
  • Use low vehicle speeds, trained observers and temporary traffic controls on tracks through suitable habitat.
  • Assess new roads, tracks, lighting, fencing and drainage for effects on movement, shelter and termite habitat.
  • Refer suspected injured, diseased or dead animals to the relevant state wildlife authority and record the location and circumstances.

Survey methodology: 1. Daytime vehicle and walking searches

Numbats are diurnal, solitary marsupials that forage for termites in woodland, open areas and suitable arid habitats. Surveys must combine direct daytime searches with searches for distinctive foraging diggings, tracks, burrows and shelter features.

Search during daylight when numbats are active and termites are near the soil surface. In summer, focus on the cooler morning and late afternoon periods, and in winter, focus on the warmer middle of the day.

Search eucalypt woodland, open areas near shrub cover, termite-rich soil, fallen timber and habitat edges. In arid areas, include mulga woodland, spinifex hummock grassland, sand plains and vegetated dunes.

Use vehicle transects and walking searches where safe and suitable. Numbats occur at low densities, so record the survey area, transect length, search time, weather, observer effort and all detections.

Do not rely on trapping to establish presence. Numbats do not enter traps and are generally monitored by vehicle sighting surveys, track counts and other non-trapping methods.

Activity period: Daytime only

Body size: Head and body length 20 to 25 cm; tail length 15 to 18 cm

Generation length: Approximately 2 years

  • Record every sighting with a location, date, time, number of animals, behaviour, habitat and photographs where possible.
  • Use repeated searches where the project area contains suitable habitat or where signs are detected, because a single negative search does not demonstrate absence.

Survey methodology: 2. Searches for foraging diggings and tracks

Inspect loose soil, termite runways, termite nests and open foraging areas for the numbat's small diggings. Numbat diggings are often associated with ant nests or termite runways.

Search along transects and around habitat features that support termites, including fallen timber, leaf litter and open ground near shrubs.

Record and photograph each digging or track series, and map its location. Diggings can be difficult to distinguish from those of other mammals, so use associated tracks, scats, termite signs and direct observations to support identification.

Daily food requirement: An adult may require 15,000 to 20,000 termites each day

Useful associated signs: Termite runways, termite galleries, tracks and scats

  • Treat fresh or repeated numbat-like diggings as a potential presence record and extend the survey around the sign.
  • Use direct detection methods at sites with uncertain diggings rather than clearing the area on the basis of sign alone.

Survey methodology: 3. Shelter, burrow and hollow-log searches

Search during the day for hollow logs, tree hollows, burrows and other overnight refuge sites. Numbats rest at night in hollow logs, hollow trees or burrows, and females use burrows or hollow logs for young.

Inspect fallen timber and burrow entrances for fresh soil, tracks, scats, nesting material and other signs of use. Burrows may be narrow shafts up to 2 m long and can be difficult to detect.

Mark shelter features on project plans and in the field before clearing. Do not enter, block, fill or dismantle a potential numbat burrow or hollow log during the survey.

Typical shelter sites: Hollow logs, tree hollows and burrows

Burrow length or depth noted in the sources: Burrows may extend up to 2 m; some nest burrows are described as 1 to 2 m long

  • Search retained habitat and the proposed disturbance footprint, including access tracks, compound areas, stockpile sites and temporary work areas.
  • Where a potential refuge is found, arrange a targeted follow-up survey and fauna management response before disturbance.

Survey methodology: 4. Camera and sign-based follow-up surveys

Use cameras, sign surveys and repeated daytime searches as follow-up methods where direct sightings are unlikely or where access is limited. The documented monitoring programs use sighting surveys, diggings and scat searches, track counts, camera monitoring and sign surveys.

Place cameras or other detection methods near likely travel routes, foraging areas, termite-rich ground, hollow logs and burrows, while avoiding disturbance to refuge sites.

Select survey timing and effort with reference to the habitat area, previous records, access and detection conditions. The sources do not prescribe a standard number of camera nights or trap nights for numbats, so report the actual effort rather than applying an unsupported number.

Known monitoring methods: Vehicle sighting surveys, walking searches, track counts, sign surveys and cameras

Monitoring frequency reported for key sites: Annual targeted surveys at Dryandra, Boyagin, Scotia and Yookamurra

  • Do not use cage or box trapping as the primary numbat survey method, because numbats do not enter traps.
  • If a survey is intended to support an EPBC assessment, use the current Australian Government survey guidance and obtain advice from the relevant state or territory wildlife authority where the species may occur.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Survey all suitable habitat within the disturbance footprint and all areas containing proposed access, compounds, laydown, utilities and temporary works.
  • Survey retained habitat immediately adjoining the footprint where animals could move during clearing or construction.
  • Time daytime searches to the species' activity periods and record the actual start and finish times, observers, distance searched, area searched, weather, visibility and habitat conditions.
  • Record all sightings, tracks, diggings, scats, burrows, hollow logs, termite signs, camera detections and negative survey results with accurate coordinates.
  • Have a qualified ecologist assess uncertain signs before clearing proceeds.
  • Submit confirmed records and relevant survey data to the relevant state or territory wildlife database, and provide records required by the project approval or environmental management plan.
  • Retain photographs, field sheets, spatial data, permits, clearance maps and fauna handling records in the project file.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise habitat loss

Treat any suitable numbat habitat as potential habitat until surveys and approval checks demonstrate otherwise. The main risks are introduced predators, loss of shelter and termite resources, fire, clearing and fragmentation.

  • Avoid clearing known or potential numbat habitat wherever practicable, particularly Dryandra and Upper Warren type woodland, eucalypt woodland, termite-rich open ground and habitat containing hollow logs or burrows.
  • Retain hollow logs, fallen timber, standing hollow trees, termite-rich soil, shrub cover and connected vegetation within and beside the work area.
  • Keep work areas, access routes, lighting and temporary facilities within the smallest practicable footprint.
  • Maintain movement between retained habitat patches. Numbat populations are severely fragmented, and isolated remnants may not maintain viable populations or genetic exchange.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and project planning

National status: EPBC Act Endangered

Breeding timing reported in the conservation advice: Mating in January; most young born in summer

Juvenile timing: Young are placed in burrows around July, emerge around September and forage independently by October

  • Check the current EPBC Act listing before work starts. The numbat is listed as Endangered nationally, so refer the action if it may have a significant impact on the species or its habitat.
  • Check the current wildlife, threatened species, clearing, animal welfare and rehabilitation requirements in the relevant state or territory. Obtain any required permits before survey, capture, handling, relocation or disturbance.
  • Prepare a species-specific fauna management plan covering survey results, exclusion zones, clearing sequence, fauna handling, stop-work triggers, contacts, records and reporting.
  • Plan clearing in stages so the fauna spotter catcher can inspect each work area immediately before disturbance and animals can move towards retained habitat.
  • Avoid periods when females are using burrows for young where the program can be scheduled around the breeding cycle. Mating occurs in January, young are placed in burrows around July, juveniles emerge from burrows around September and become independent by October.

Before habitat disturbance: Pre-clearance preparation

  • Complete the approved pre-clearance survey within the final disturbance footprint and any areas that may be affected by machinery, access or spoil placement.
  • Mark exclusion zones around confirmed sightings, active signs, burrows, hollow logs, termite-rich foraging areas and other retained habitat features.
  • Install exclusion fencing only where it will not trap, injure or block numbats from reaching retained habitat. Inspect fencing daily while it remains in place.
  • Brief all machinery operators, supervisors and contractors on the species identification, exclusion zones, stop-work procedure and fauna spotter catcher authority.
  • Confirm the location of the nearest authorised wildlife carer, veterinarian and approved release habitat before clearing begins.

During habitat disturbance: Daily clearing controls

Numbats are small, diurnal and vulnerable to predation and direct injury during clearing. A fauna spotter catcher must control the sequence of work and stop machinery whenever an animal or potential refuge feature requires assessment.

  • Inspect the work area each day before machinery starts, including access routes, stockpiles, temporary work areas, hollow logs, burrows, termite-rich ground and recently disturbed soil.
  • Use a fauna spotter catcher with authority to stop work, supported by the ecologist and site supervisor.
  • Clear in small, staged sections towards retained habitat where practicable, allowing animals to move away from machinery without being driven into roads, fences or predator risk.
  • Keep machinery speeds low and maintain clear communication between the operator, spotter catcher and supervisor.
  • Do not commence clearing in poor visibility or conditions that prevent reliable detection of a diurnal animal, unless the approved fauna management plan specifically addresses the risk.

During habitat disturbance: Handling habitat features

  • Do not fell, move, fill or destroy a hollow-bearing tree, hollow log, burrow or other potential refuge until it has been inspected and cleared by the fauna spotter catcher.
  • Inspect hollow logs, burrows, termite-rich soil and dense shrub cover immediately before removal. Use non-destructive inspection methods unless an authorised wildlife professional directs otherwise.
  • Retain suitable logs and other shelter features in the retained habitat or relocate them only under an approved ecological method that does not destroy occupied refuge sites.
  • Do not use fire, smoke, water, excavation or machinery to flush an animal from a burrow or hollow.
  • Protect retained habitat from vehicle entry, soil compaction, spoil, weeds, lighting and changes to drainage.

During habitat disturbance: Animal encounters and stop-work triggers

  • Stop work immediately if a numbat is seen, trapped, injured, found in a burrow or hollow, or detected within the active work area.
  • Keep people, vehicles and dogs away from the animal. Prevent pursuit and do not allow untrained workers to handle it.
  • Only an appropriately authorised and experienced person may capture, handle or relocate a numbat. Follow the permit, animal welfare and fauna management plan requirements.
  • Allow an uninjured animal to move to nearby retained habitat where safe. If capture or relocation is required, use the approved method and release it into suitable connected habitat as close as practicable to the site, unless the authority directs otherwise.
  • Send an injured, heat-stressed or apparently compromised animal promptly to the nominated veterinarian or authorised wildlife carer, and record the transfer.
  • Stop work if a new burrow, hollow log, repeated numbat sign, carcass, predator-control failure, damaged exclusion fence or unapproved habitat impact is identified.
  • Restart work only after the fauna spotter catcher and project ecologist have inspected the area, documented the response and authorised recommencement.

During habitat disturbance: Records and communication

  • Record each encounter, including date, time, coordinates, habitat, condition, action taken, handler, release location and outcome.
  • Record all searched and cleared areas, retained features, exclusion zones, daily inspections, stop-work events and fauna mortalities.
  • Notify the project environmental officer, approval holder and relevant authority within the timeframe required by the approval or fauna management plan.
  • Update the clearing map and work method whenever a new numbat record or occupied refuge feature is found.

After habitat disturbance: Post-clearance checks

Post-clearance work must confirm that no animal or refuge feature has been missed and that retained habitat remains usable. Continue controls until disturbed areas are stable and approval conditions are met.

  • Inspect each cleared section after machinery leaves, including burrows, hollow logs, tree hollows, spoil piles, drainage lines and vegetation edges.
  • Search for injured or displaced animals, fresh tracks, diggings, scats, carcasses and signs of animals entering unsafe areas.
  • Remove hazards such as open trenches, uncovered pits, unsecured pipes, loose netting and gaps beneath temporary fencing before the site is left unattended.
  • Close or cover excavations in accordance with the fauna management plan, while checking first that no animal is present.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and reporting

  • Monitor retained habitat and adjoining vegetation for numbat sightings, tracks, diggings and other signs after disturbance, using the approved monitoring design.
  • Repeat targeted daytime searches where clearing removed shelter, affected termite-rich soil, divided habitat or occurred near a confirmed record.
  • Compare post-work records with the pre-clearance baseline, including the number and condition of hollow logs, burrows, termite signs, habitat area and connectivity.
  • Report all confirmed records, injuries, deaths, relocations, unexpected impacts and monitoring results to the approval holder and relevant state or territory wildlife database.
  • Keep predator control, exclusion fencing, access controls and speed restrictions in place for the period specified in the fauna management plan.

After habitat disturbance: Offsets and corrective action

  • Apply any approved offset, restoration or conservation payment requirement for residual significant impacts to Endangered numbat habitat.
  • If monitoring identifies loss of shelter, declining signs, predator access, fire damage or failed rehabilitation, implement corrective actions through the project environmental management system.
  • Review the fauna management plan after any incident and update clearing methods, staging, exclusion zones or monitoring effort before further work.

Rehabilitation actions: Restore food and shelter habitat

Rehabilitation should restore the features numbats need for termites, daytime foraging and protection from predators. Success depends on habitat structure, predator control, fire management and ongoing monitoring.

  • Re-establish locally appropriate eucalypt woodland and associated shrub cover using species and provenance approved for the project area.
  • Restore open foraging areas beside shrub and woodland cover, because numbats forage in open areas while using vegetation and fallen timber for shelter.
  • Retain and reinstate hollow logs, fallen timber, leaf litter and other dead wood that provide refuge and support termite habitat.
  • Do not remove firewood or dead timber from rehabilitation areas unless required for safety or approved ecological management.
  • Protect rehabilitated soil from compaction and maintain conditions that allow termite galleries and other soil fauna to persist.

Rehabilitation actions: Hollows, burrows and replacement features

  • Retain existing hollow-bearing trees and logs wherever possible, because numbats use them as overnight refuges and nest sites.
  • Where approved habitat features cannot be retained, develop a replacement feature plan with the project ecologist and relevant authority. The supplied sources support retaining natural hollows and logs but do not specify a numbat nest-box design.
  • Reinstate suitable fallen logs and protect them from machinery, firewood collection and unauthorised removal.
  • Do not install or relocate a feature into rehabilitation habitat until it is stable, accessible and outside predicted inundation or routine maintenance areas.

Rehabilitation actions: Predator and fire management

Reported Dryandra fire interval: 20 to 30 years for Gastrolobium thickets to attain full development

Primary introduced predators: Red foxes and feral cats

  • Maintain effective fox control around established and re-established populations in accordance with the approved control program.
  • Use approved feral cat control where effective methods are available, with particular attention to unfenced populations and sites supporting reintroductions.
  • Manage fire to reduce frequent and intense burns while retaining habitat structure and termite resources. Numbats can be killed by fire, and fire can remove hollow logs, cover and food resources.
  • Coordinate rehabilitation fire planning with the relevant land manager. At Dryandra, the scorecard reports that intervals of 20 to 30 years are needed for Gastrolobium thickets to fully develop, but site-specific fire planning is required.
  • Prevent weed invasion, uncontrolled access, rubbish and domestic or feral animal entry into rehabilitation areas.

Rehabilitation actions: Monitoring and success measures

  • Monitor rehabilitation for plant establishment, shrub cover, fallen timber, hollow-log retention, termite signs, numbat diggings, tracks, sightings and camera detections.
  • Use the same methods and mapped locations as the pre-clearance survey where practicable, so changes can be assessed over time.
  • Set success measures for habitat establishment, shelter retention, predator control, fire management and numbat use before rehabilitation starts.
  • Continue monitoring long enough to identify failure of habitat establishment, loss of shelter, predator incursions or declining numbat use, and repair failed areas promptly.
  • Share confirmed records with the relevant state or territory wildlife database and include rehabilitation outcomes in approval reporting.

Sources