Threatened Species Strategy – Year 3 Priority Species Scorecard (2018) Numbat Myrmecobius fasciatus Key Findings Numbats were once widespread across mainland Australia but declined to only ~300 individuals in WA by the late 1970s, primarily due to predation by foxes and habitat loss, as well as predation by feral cats, and frequent and intense fires. Long term control of introduced predators and careful fire management increased populations, enabling translocations to other sites to re-establish Numbats in parts of their former range, firstly in WA and more recently in SA and NSW. These intensive and long-term recovery efforts have increased the total population to over 1300 individuals. Photo: Alexander Dudley Significant trajectory change from 2005-15 to 2015-18? Yes, rate of increase has improved. Priority future actions • Maintain existing fenced populations and develop plan for metapopulation management. • Intensify feral cat control at all established populations (outside of fences). • Establish further populations across range. Full assessment information Background information 2018 population trajectory assessment 1. Conservation status and taxonomy 8. Expert elicitation for population trends 2. Conservation history and prospects 9. Immediate priorities from 2019 3. Past and current trends 10. Contributors 4. Key threats 11. Legislative documents 5. Past and current management 12. References 6. Support from the Australian Government 13. Citation 7. Measuring progress towards conservation The primary purpose of this scorecard is to assess progress against the year three targets outlined in the Australian Government’s Threatened Species Strategy, including estimating the change in population trajectory of 20 mammal species. It has been prepared by experts from the National Environmental Science Program’s Threatened Species Recovery Hub, with input from a number of taxon experts, a range of stakeholders and staff from the Office of the Threatened Species Commissioner, for the information of the Australian Government and is non-statutory. It has been informed by statutory planning documents that guide recovery of the species, such as Recovery Plans and/or Conservation Advices (see Section 11). The descriptive information in the scorecard is drawn from the summaries of (Woinarski et al. 2014; Woinarski and Burbidge 2016; Department of Parks and Wildlife 2017; TSSC 2018) and references therein, unless otherwise noted by additional citations. The background information aims to provide context for estimation of progress in research and management (Section 7) and estimation of population size and trajectories (Section 8). 1 Information current to December 2018 Threatened Species Strategy – Year 3 Priority Species Scorecard (2018) 1. Conservation status and taxonomy Conservation status 2018 Taxonomy: No subspecies are recognised. The Numbat is the sole IUCN Endangered member of the family Myrmecobiidae. EPBC Endangered NSW Extinct NT Extinct SA Endangered WA Endangered 2. Conservation history and prospects Numbats are diurnal termite-eaters. They find sub-surface termite galleries by smell and dig their prey out with their front feet. An adult Numbat eats around 15,000-20,000 termites every day, and shelters overnight in hollow logs, tree hollows and burrows. The pre-European distribution of the Numbat stretched over much of southern arid and semi-arid Australia, reaching into the southern part of the Northern Territory, extending east to north-west Victoria and western New South Wales, and west to south-west Western Australia. They previously occupied a variety of vegetation types, from spinifex deserts to tall eucalypt forests. Numbats had disappeared from most of this distribution by the 1970s, persisting only in six known subpopulations in south-west Western Australia (northern jarrah forest and Swan coastal plain, Dryandra Woodland near Narrogin, Boyagin Nature Reserve near Brookton, Tutanning Nature Reserve near Pingelly, bushland south of Hyden and Upper Warren). By the mid-1980s, only two of these subpopulations persisted, at Dryandra and Upper Warren. Fox control at Dryandra commencing in the early 1980s resulted in a rapid increase in Numbat numbers. In the Upper Warren, widespread fox control under the Western Shield program from 1996 was followed by a significant increase in the local range of the species. Numbats were reintroduced to several sites in south-western Australia: (Boyagin Nature Reserve (reintroduced 1985), Batalling State Forest (1992), Tutanning Nature Reserve (1989), Dragon Rocks Nature Reserve (1995), Dale Conservation Park (1996), Stirling Range National Park (1998), Cocanarup Timber Reserve (2006), with the last three reintroductions ultimately unsuccessful). Numbats have also been reintroduced to five mainland fenced areas from which cats and foxes are excluded, with two of those reintroductions proving successful (Yookamurra in South Australia, Scotia in western New South Wales) and a third recent reintroduction to Mt Gibson (Western Australia) which is still establishing; translocations to Karakamia and Arid Recovery were unsuccessful, although the latter site received only five animals in a trial. Fenced exclosures have also been constructed around resident Numbats at Upper Warren (Perup Sanctuary) and Dryandra Woodland (Dryandra Sanctuary). Captive breeding at the WA Wildlife 2 Information current to December 2018 Threatened Species Strategy – Year 3 Priority Species Scorecard (2018) Research Centre between 1984 and 1992, then Perth Zoo (1993-now) has provided Numbats for several of these translocations and supplementation of existing populations. New fenced exclosures that may house Numbats in the future include Matuwa-Lorna Glen (WA), Newhaven (NT) and Mallee Cliffs, although the latter two sites are on the edge of the Numbat’s previous distribution. Such reintroductions will be contingent, in part, on the availability of Numbats for translocation. 3. Past and current trends From an extensive pre-European distribution that stretched from the west coast of WA through to western NSW and north-west Victoria, the Numbat had declined to about 300 individuals by the late 1970s, spread between six known areas in southwest WA (northern jarrah forest and Swan coastal plain, Dryandra Woodland near Narrogin, Boyagin Nature Reserve near Brookton, Tutanning Nature Reserve near Pingelly, bushland south of Hyden, Upper Warren). By the late 1980s, Numbats persisted at only two of these areas, Dryandra and Perup. Fox control in Dryandra in the mid-1980s resulted in a rapid increase in the Numbat population. Numbers continued to increase until the early 1990s (to about 600), but then declined again to around 50 in 2007. Research carried out in 2011−12 showed that feral cats had become the main predator. Cat control was instigated, and Numbat numbers increased to around 80 by 2015; the Numbat population has been stable, or possibly increasing since then. The Perup Numbat population also increased and expanded into other parts of the Upper Warren following instigation of fox control, which began in the 1970s. Although monitoring data are few and patchy, available evidence (sighting records) suggests the population is stable. Translocations were carried out from the mid-1980s to establish Numbats in parts of their previous range. These translocations have had mixed success: • translocations to Karroun Hill Nature Reserve (1986) and Dale Conservation Park (1996) failed • translocations to Stirling Range (1998) and Cocanarup (2006) were initially successful, but have since failed • translocations to Tutanning (1989) and Dragon Rocks (1995) were initially successful, but populations are currently at low numbers • translocations to Boyagin (1985) and Batalling (1992) have resulted in self-sustaining populations Additional translocations, into fenced exclosures, have also occurred with mixed success, including to eastern parts of the Numbat’s pre-European distribution: • translocations to Karakamia Sanctuary (WA; 1994) and Arid Recovery (SA; 2005) failed • translocations to Yookamurra (SA; 1993) and Scotia Sanctuary (NSW; 1999) have resulted in self- sustaining populations • Numbats are currently being reintroduced to Mt Gibson Sanctuary (WA; 2016) 3 Information current to December 2018 Threatened Species Strategy – Year 3 Priority Species Scorecard (2018) Fenced areas have been constructed at Perup in the Upper Warren (2010) and Dryandra Woodland (2017), enclosing resident Numbats. At Dryandra Sanctuary, the fenced population has been augmented. Several Numbats were taken into captivity in 1984 and housed at the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife’s Western Australian Wildlife Research Centre, where captive breeding was first achieved. Some of these animals were later transferred to Perth Zoo (1986), which has maintained a captive colony since, and since 1993 has supplied many Numbats for reintroductions. Overall, from a low point in the 1970s-80s, Numbats increased as a result of fox control and translocations, but the total population began declining again from the 1990s and 2000s. By 2015, the population numbered about 1000 individuals, and has remained stable or increased. Monitoring (existing programs): Numbats occur at low densities. They do not enter traps and are usually monitored by sighting surveys from vehicles along transects, sign (diggings and scats) surveys or, in suitable soil types, by track counts. The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions undertakes monitoring of Numbat