- Four numbats released into Dryandra Woodland National Park as part of ongoing recovery efforts
- Bred at Perth Zoo through its successful Native Species Breeding Program
- Numbats fitted with radio collars to track movements and support conservation management in coming months
Dryandra Woodland National Park has welcomed four new numbats bred at Perth Zoo, supporting the Cook Government's priority to protect and restore Western Australia's environment so future generations can continue enjoying the State's unique native species.
This release builds upon the State Government's long-running, science-led numbat recovery efforts, with the four one-year-old siblings fitted with lightweight radio collars so researchers can monitor their movements.
Funding for the radio collars was provided by community group Project Numbat. The numbats translocation was overseen by zoo scientists, national park managers, and community volunteers.
Each numbat was released at a separate site to reduce predation risk, supported by regular baiting under the Western Shield conservation program targeting foxes and feral cats.
Once reduced to around 300 animals in the 1980s, the global numbat population is now estimated at more than 3,000 thanks to sustained conservation work.
Dryandra Woodland National Park sits within the Gnaala Karla Booja region and the numbat has deep spiritual significance for Noongar people.
Perth Zoo is the only zoological institution in the world to breed these native marsupials, and since 1993, more than 320 have been bred and released into the wild.
Perth Zoo science staff regularly work together with conservation managers in the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) to release zoo-born animals into safe wild habitats.
Dryandra Woodland National Park, 180 kilometres south-east of Perth, is a key stronghold for some of Australia's rarest and most vulnerable wildlife, including numbats, woylies, chuditch, red-tailed phascogales, and the mound-building malleefowl.
It is also home to Barna Mia, a predator-proof animal sanctuary where the public can see rare and protected wildlife including numbats in their nocturnal environment.
As stated by the Environment Minister Matthew Swinbourn:
"Protecting and restoring our environment so future generations can enjoy it is a core priority of the Cook Government and safeguarding the future of our native species is central to that mission.
"WA's fauna emblem, the numbat,is a conservation priority and I thank the scientists at Perth Zoo and the conservation staff at DBCA for their work in this important and ongoing breeding and translocation program."
As stated by Wheatbelt Minister Sabine Winton:
"Since the State Government created Dryandra Woodland National Park in 2022, our priority has been to ensure the future protection of native animals, including numbats, living in one of the last remnants of original woodland in the western Wheatbelt.
"As a haven for wild populations of numbats, we must cherish and respect the woodland habitat in Dryandra, to enable these wonderful animals to thrive into the future."
