Female numbat in Brookton, Western Australia
© Martin Willis/Minden Picture
It's World Numbat Day!. World Numbat Day
OK, you might be asking: World what day? Meet the numbat! Although it's one of many marsupials found here in Western Australia, the numbat is unique, sharing no relation to any living species. But it's also critically endangered: This little fella is one of fewer than 1,000 of its kind left in the wild.
Numbats behave a bit like Africa's meerkats or North America's prairie dogs, often standing on hind legs to furtively scan the surroundings for predators or hiding out in hollow logs or burrows. They've always got an eye to the ground, too, searching for nests of their favourite snack: termites. A single numbat often slurps up 20,000 termites a day with its long, sticky tongue, something which must go down well with residents of Western Australia.
Related Images
Andy Goldsworthy's Wood Line installation along Lovers' Lane in the Presidio of San Francisco, California, USA
Two mountain bike riders in Canyonlands National Park, Utah, USA
The Lagangarbh hut nestles in the valley beneath Buachaille Etive Mòr, Glencoe
Two rhinos and an oxpecker bird in the Amakhala Game Reserve in South Africa
Hoar frost on vegetation near Coniston, Lake District
African elephants in Addo Elephant National Park in South Africa
Path through Puzzlewood, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire
Ancient beech trees in Harlestone Firs, Northamptonshire
Bing Today Images
