Tony Friend has spent four decades watching over one of Australia's most unique animals. Now, finally, his work is paying off.
The numbat — a striped, termite-eating marsupial with reddish-brown fur — has been moved off the endangered list. The global wildlife conservation authority called the IUCN recently downlisted the species from Endangered to Near Threatened, a major milestone for a creature that was once on the brink of disappearing forever.
By the late 1970s, fewer than 300 numbats remained in the wild. Their numbers had plummeted because predators like red foxes and domestic cats were introduced to Australia, and because their forest homes were destroyed. Fires also became more frequent and intense, making life even harder for these small, shy animals.
Today, numbat populations have grown to somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 individuals. That number may sound small, but considering where they started, it's a remarkable turnaround.
"The downlisting of the numbat from Endangered to Near Threatened is what we have been working for over the last 40 years!" said Friend, a research associate at Western Australia's Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. "Consequently, I feel very elated that the more secure status we've been able to achieve has been recognised by IUCN."
The recovery happened through sustained effort. Wildlife scientists, the Perth Zoo, conservation groups, and volunteers worked together to bait and remove foxes and cats from certain areas. They also built fenced sanctuaries to keep predators out and moved numbats — both wild-caught and zoo-bred — to new locations.
The results have been striking. One of the original numbat populations in Western Australia has grown to around 20,000 individuals alone. Conservation teams have now established five additional populations across southern Australia: three in Western Australia, one in South Australia, and one in New South Wales. These new groups have survived for at least 10 years, with the oldest established more than 30 years ago.
Still, Friend cautions against celebrating too soon. The total numbat population of about 3,000 is still very small for an entire species. Without ongoing predator control, he warns, numbats could quickly slide back toward extinction.
"This success has only been achieved by a huge sustained effort in controlling introduced predators," Friend said. "The effort must continue, or the numbat will quickly fall back to low levels."
Yet for now, Australia can celebrate. The numbat — the official animal emblem of Western Australia — is on the mend, proof that when humans commit to helping struggling species, recovery is possible.