Handprinted woodblocks on Fabriano Paper (200gsm)
Our Numbat, Western Australia. The Numbat is our Western
Australian State Fauna Emblem. The Numbat is a marsupial animal
surviving only in small patches of forest in Western Australia's
south-west. Each is the size of a large rat or small cat. Numbats eat
an exclusive diet of termites, but they are not strong enough to
break into termite mounds themselves, so they wait for termites to
venture out into their shallow feeding galleries. The Numbat
lifestyle is very closely linked to termite movements. In summer
termites are out early in the day but retreat deeper into the soil as
the temperature increases. During the heat of the day numbats retreat
to a hollow log and wait for the cooler part of the afternoon when
termites are close to the surface again. In winter termites and
numbats remain active from late morning till dusk. Although it is a
marsupial, the numbat doesn't have a pouch. The tiny young when born
are attached to the mother's teats, protected by long body hairs.
Numbats are endangered due to the combined effects of three main
factors - habitat clearing, changed fire patterns and introduced
predators, mainly foxes and cats. Fires are particularly devastating
since they not only kill the animals, but remove the hollow log homes
and reduce the amount of food available to them.
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