Nambat or Marsupial anteater: Australian miracle. Anteater - the most tongued animal on Earth Marsupial animal feeds on termites and ants

No wonder Australia is famous for its amazing fauna. Previously, almost all the animals of this continent were marsupials. And in our time, the situation has not changed much. Many Australian mammals belong to this infraclass, including predators, such as marsupial wolves, etc. Even anteaters, and those marsupials! They are also called nambats (very much in tune with).

They became famous for the fact that, despite their small sprout, they can extend their tongue to almost half the length of their body. This allows them to get the most favorite treat – .

This is a very cute little animal. more cat. A small head is decorated with a neat, elongated and pointed muzzle with a small mouth, from which a 10-centimeter tongue appears as needed. The long tail is the envy of everyone: fluffy and with a slightly curved tip.

Of all marsupials, nambats probably have the most beautiful and colorful color. Grey-brown or reddish back and upper thighs decorated with 6-12 white or cream stripes. There are 2 black stripes along the muzzle, and the abdomen and limbs are “dressed” in light “panties”. The number of fingers on the front and hind legs is different, 5 and 4, respectively.

Like many other anteaters, the teeth of the marsupial anteater are also underdeveloped. Molar teeth from different sides can have different sizes. In addition, the hard palate is much longer than that of other mammals.

It is clear that nambats are endemic Australian continent. But if earlier they were widespread in the western and southern parts of the mainland, now, due to the excesses of wild dogs and foxes introduced by Europeans, their numbers have noticeably decreased, and their habitats have been reduced to the southwest of Western Australia. They live next to, in eucalyptus forests and dry woodlands.

These are quite agile animals, and climb trees perfectly. Therefore, the main shelters for nambats are hollows or shallow burrows lined with soft and dry bedding of leaves, grass and bark. Sometimes they climb into large dry piles of grass and foliage, where they fall asleep. The sleep is very deep, so they cannot wake up immediately, which makes them very easy prey.

Most years, nambat leads a daytime lifestyle. This is due to its diet, consisting exclusively of termites. Ants and other invertebrates come across quite by accident. During the day, he is able to swallow a couple of tens of thousands of these insects. An excellent sense of smell helps the animal to find their paths and gathering places.

True, unlike their American counterparts, they do not have such powerful claws that could easily destroy the strong walls of the termite mound. Therefore, they look for insects in rotten wood or dig up soft soil where their main underground tunnels pass. In the summer, when high temperature during the day, termites prefer to sit underground, marsupial anteaters switch to a twilight lifestyle.

During the meal, they are completely passionate about food, so they completely do not pay attention to what is happening around them. What people often use. At this point, they can pet or even take the animal in their arms. The anteater practically does not resist and does not break out. Just grumble a little.

December - beginning mating season. At this time, males begin to show their activity and go in search of females. At the same time, do not miss the opportunity to mark each suitable tree with your oily secret.

Unlike other marsupials, nambats do not have a pouch. Tiny newborn cubs (no more than 1 centimeter long) make their way to the mother's nipples and cling tightly to her fur. In such a "suspended state" they live for about 4 months, until they grow up to 4-5 centimeters. After that, the female leaves her offspring in one of the shelters and comes to them only at night.

After some time, the cubs already begin to leave their house for a while, and by October, along with mother's milk, they begin to feed on termites. They live with their mother until the age of 9 months, after which they scatter and begin an independent life. Only in the second year of life, young nambats reach puberty.

We have already mentioned that the number of these animals on this moment not numerous, and at one time this species was generally on the verge of extinction. But as a result of timely taken security measures, their numbers still managed to stabilize. Nambat is included in the International Red Book as an "endangered species".

Marsupial anteaters (or, as they are also called, "nambats" or "anteaters") are rare animals. They are short stature- the size of a squirrel. They belong to the marsupial family. Today we have to get to know this amazing animal better and learn a lot of interesting things about it.

Description of nambat

The length of the animal is from 17 to 27 centimeters, and the tail has a length of 13 to 17 centimeters. Males are larger than females. The weight of one animal can range from 270 to 550 grams. Puberty is reached at the age of 11 months.

The coat of representatives of the family of marsupial anteaters is short, but thick and hard. The color is gray, red with white hairs. There are 8 white stripes on the back. Relative to the body, the animals have a very long and fluffy tail. The elongated bony nose is adapted to dig the ground in search of food. A long sticky tongue is great trap for favorite termites.

The marsupial anteater leads a daytime lifestyle, and after a hearty lunch he likes to sleep - soak up the sun. A very funny picture of watching him: lying on his back with outstretched paws and sticking out his tongue, he is blissful.

In extreme heat, it hides in the foliage or hollow of a tree. He has such a deep sleep that if you pick him up, he won't even wake up. Being a not so vigilant animal, he risks dying by negligence. This is especially true for forest fires, which are not so rare for its habitat. Slow nambats perish in the fire, not having time to wake up in time.

Habitat of a marsupial

Where do marsupial anteaters live? We can answer this question below.

Until the end of the 18th century, the population was widespread in western and southern Australia. But after the European colonization of the mainland, these animals were significantly reduced in number. And many of them have retained their habitat in the southwestern part of the mainland in eucalyptus, acacia forests and woodlands.

This choice of terrain for the marsupial anteater is not accidental: termite-affected eucalyptus leaves are dropped to the ground. And this is food for him (in the form of termites) and shelter from the leaves of a tree. It can be found running on the ground or moving by jumping. Periodically, he stands on his hind legs to look around for safety. If he sees in the sky, he will rush to hide in a shelter.

A photo of a marsupial anteater while checking the area for the presence of a predator helps to imagine what this animal looks like.

Animal diet

The marsupial anteater feeds on insects; termites or ants, large insects, are its favorite food. Thanks to its keen sense of smell, it can find its food even under the ground or leaves. If necessary, he can resort to the help of his powerful claws to get through the wood to his delicacy.

Ant-eater long tongue, which can protrude up to 10 centimeters in length. The tongue, like Velcro, captures its prey. When caught, small pebbles, earth or other objects may come across on the tongue. All this he rolls several times in his mouth, then swallows.

Remarkably, the teeth of the animal are small and weak. They have an asymmetrical shape and can be of different lengths and even widths. Teeth about 50-52 pieces. The hard palate extends further than in most mammals. But this feature is connected with the length of his tongue.

Reproduction of the nambat population

Marsupial anteaters lead a solitary lifestyle. But when it's time for the mating season, the males set off in search of the female. This happens from December to April.

January to May in prepared loving parents very tiny centimetric anteater cubs are born in the nest. There are 2 to 4 babies in a litter. The female does not have a brood pouch, so they hang on their nipples, holding tightly to their mother's fur. This period lasts about 4 months until they reach a size of up to 4-5 centimeters. All this time the lactation period lasts, which ends 4 months after their birth.

From now on, the female can leave the cubs alone in the hole. Upon reaching six months, small nambats can independently get their own food. But they continue to live in the territory with their mother. By December (the beginning of summer in Australia), the young generation begins an adult and independent life, leaving the parental mink.

• Murashied is not only a rare Australian animal, but also unique. He is awake during the day and sleeps at night, which is not typical for marsupials.
• If you manage to catch the animal, then it will not resist, unlike the rest of the animal world. But you will be honored with his hiss, which will indicate his discontent and excited state.
• The tongue of the Australian marsupial has a cylindrical shape, which is uncharacteristic of mammals, as well as a length of about 10 centimeters, which is almost half the length of the body.
• Marsupial anteater eats record number termites per day - 20,000 pieces.
• His sleep is so deep and strong that it can only be compared with suspended animation. It's almost impossible to wake him up.
• Among mammals living on land, this is the only representative with huge amount teeth - 52 pieces. And this despite the fact that he almost does not use them, preferring to swallow food.

The status of the animal and its protection

Due to the fact that in the habitat of the marsupial anteater appeared a large number of foxes, feral dogs and cats, and flying predators do not lose their vigilance, the population of nambats has declined sharply. In particular, this was due to the importation of red foxes to the continent in the 19th century. In the late 1970s, there were only about 1,000 individuals in southern Australia and the Northern Territory.

Also, the expansion of human agricultural activities has affected the disappearance of the marsupial anteater. Lumberjacks and farmers burned fallen dry branches, branches, and the remains of felled trees. As a result, many sleeping ants in these branches and herbs were burned due to human negligence.

At present, they are maintained artificially, which makes it possible to increase and preserve these animals.

The life expectancy of the animal reaches 4-6 years.

Nambat is an animal listed in the Red Book, has the status of "vulnerable", that is, on the verge of extinction.

In conclusion about the amazing animal

Today we had a chance to get acquainted with a unique animal from the continent of Australia - the marsupial anteater. This is an interesting animal in terms of observation. It is incapable of aggression and self-defense. Having information about its status in the Red Book, it is undoubtedly worth treating this cute animal with attention and care. Preservation of the life of Red Book animals is priority humanity.

Detachment - marsupials

Family - marsupial anteaters

Genus/Species - Myrmecobius fasciatus. Marsupial anteater, or nambat, or anteater

Basic data:

DIMENSIONS

Body length with head: 27.5 cm, males are larger than females.

Tail length: 16-21 cm.

Weight: 280-550

BREEDING

Puberty: from 11 months.

Mating period: usually December-April.

Pregnancy: 14 days.

Number of cubs: 2-4.

Number of litters: for 1 year.

LIFESTYLE

Habits: marsupial anteaters (see photo) keep alone; active during the daytime.

What does it eat: mostly termites.

Sounds: sniffling, irritated hissing.

Lifespan: 3-4 years.

RELATED SPECIES

The family of marsupial anteaters, or nambats, is represented by a single species.

Nambat. Video (00:04:23)

Although the marsupial anteater belongs to the marsupial order, it lacks the brood pouch characteristic of them. Nambat cubs cling to the long, curly hair on their mother's belly. Despite the name of the family, the animal very rarely hunts ants - its favorite treats are termites.

WHAT DOES IT FEED

Termites are the nambats' favorite food; less often they feast on ants. Thanks to its sensitive nose, the animal easily finds termite passages even underground and under a layer of branches that lie on its surface. With the help of strong claws, the marsupial anteater removes only the top layer of turf to open termite trails, and never digs deeper into the soil. Often this animal, in order to get to the “tidbits”, breaks the wood affected by termites with its powerful claws. The marsupial anteater nambat catches insects with a long sticky tongue that can protrude 10 cm. The nambat has an extremely mobile and very strong tongue with which it can move twigs "Using a long, pointed nose as a lever, he picks up stones and branches under which insects can hide. As a representative of marsupials, the nambat has a lot of teeth, but it swallows prey whole. Stirring layers of fallen leaves and examining the soil, the nambat quite often finds large insects. He sweeps them with his sticky tongue into his mouth, bites them several times and then swallows them - along with the earth and stones that accidentally got on his tongue.

PLACE OF RESIDENCE

The natural habitat of the marsupial anteater is the forests in southwestern Australia, consisting of eucalyptus trees, or vandu. Nambat chooses precisely such forests for the reason that eucalyptus trees they constantly drop branches affected by termites to the ground - and this is just what he needs: the marsupial anteater feeds on termites, and the fallen branches give him shelter. Most of the day the animal is busy looking for food. He runs along the branches lying on the ground, or moves in short jumps. Nambat often stops, stands in a column and carefully looks around, checking if there is any danger nearby. Noticing the danger - say, an eagle that is circling in the sky - he instantly hides in the nest.

Having had a good meal, the beast likes to bask in the sun, doing this quite often. During such a sunbathing"He takes a funny pose - he lies on his back, spreading his legs wide, opening his mouth and sticking his tongue out. Nambats live alone, lead a daily lifestyle. At nightfall, the marsupial anteater settles for the night in a hollow tree or in thickets of plants. Nest is lined by nambats dry leaves and grass.

BREEDING

Outside the breeding season, nambats lead a solitary lifestyle. Only during the rutting season, which lasts from December to April, you can see animals that live in pairs.

From January to May, in a nest or a shallow hole dug out by the female specifically for this purpose, from 2 to 4 cubs are born. In nambat cubs, the nose is much shorter than in an adult animal. Since the female does not have a brood pouch, newborn marsupial anteaters cling tightly to the long hair on the mother's belly. Feeding the cubs with milk lasts several months. Already in July-August, the mother, going in search of food, leaves the cubs alone in the hole. Lactation stops when the cubs reach six months of age and are able to get food on their own. At first, the growing cubs live on the territory of the mother, gradually acquiring the skills of an adult animal, and by December (the beginning of summer in Australia) they are already starting an independent life. Animals become sexually mature at the age of one year. They soon begin to multiply.

GENERAL PROVISIONS

The name "nambat" was given to the marsupial anteater by the indigenous inhabitants of Australia. The animal is small, a little more regular squirrel leads a nocturnal lifestyle. Nambat food consists almost entirely of termites. He can also look for them in the trees. With lightning-fast movements, the nambat takes out termites one at a time with its thin and flexible tongue. He pounces on food with such greed that you can touch him at this time and he will not interrupt his meal. Unlike true anteaters, the marsupial anteater has small teeth.

Nambat has a habit of sleeping so soundly during the day that you can pick him up without waking him up. Because of this feature, he is threatened with extinction. AT recent times through the fault of man in Australia have become more frequent Forest fires. Slow marsupial anteaters die in fire because they cannot wake up in time.

INTERESTING INFORMATION. DO YOU KNOW WHAT...

• Nambat is the only one among marsupials of australia who leads an exclusively diurnal lifestyle.
• If the nambat is taken by surprise or caught, it never resists and is limited to hissing.
• The Nambat tongue is cylindrical in shape and reaches 10 cm in length.
• Nambat eats about 20,000 termites daily.
• At night, the beast falls into a deep sleep, similar to suspended animation.
• The marsupial anteater has a record number of teeth among land mammals, usually from 50 to 52. However, the numbat, accustomed to swallowing food whole, rarely uses them.

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF NAMBAT. DESCRIPTION

Wool: gray, sometimes reddish, with white guard hairs; on the back and rump 8 white stripes; The coat is short and thick, on the belly it is longer - cubs hide in it.

Nose: long and bony, convenient for digging earth, turning over stones.

mouth opening: in a small oral cavity there is a long sticky tongue, perfectly adapted for catching termites.

Limbs: short and powerful. The forelimbs are five-fingered, the hind limbs are four-fingered. All fingers end in strong claws - a tool for digging hard earth, moss and breaking dead wood.

Tail: long and fluffy. In an excited beast, the hair on the tail bristles.

- Habitat of nambat

WHERE LIVES

The marsupial anteater lives in eucalyptus forests and scrublands in southwestern Australia.

PROTECTION AND PRESERVATION

Nambat is a very rare animal. The reason was the appearance on the continent of foxes, dogs and cats. Quite often, animals that slept on a dry windbreak were burned by farmers or lumberjacks, who used deadwood as firewood. Nowadays, stations for artificial breeding of marsupial anteaters are organized.

Marsupial anteater. Video (00:03:05)

Nambat. Video (00:03:58)

The places where the anteater lives are well known to all fans of this animal. It belongs to the genus of edentulous mammals.

Such different anteaters

You can find out where the anteater lives by reading this article. It should be noted right away that there is a wide variety of these animals in the world. From pygmy anteaters, whose weight is less than half a kilogram, and a body length of only 15 centimeters, to a giant anteater. This one grows more than a meter in length, and weighs about three dozen kilograms.

Traditionally, as with most mammals, males are noticeably larger than females. Their main distinguishing feature- long and tube-shaped muzzle, which ends with a small mouth opening, very narrow. At the same time, the ears are very small, and the eyes are just tiny.

The tail of different anteaters is different. For example, a pygmy anteater or a tamandua has a bare tail with a grasping reflex. Anteaters are also distinguished by a worm-like tongue. It is quite long, for them it is a kind of trapping organ. The anteater wets it with sticky saliva. In a giant anteater, such a tongue can be up to 60 centimeters in length. According to this indicator, they are leaders among all land animals on the planet.

The body of this animal is usually covered with thick hair. The hairs are soft and short in small individuals, coarse and long in major representatives this family. Coloring is the most contrasting. It may be gray, or it may be golden brown. Most four-toed anteaters are characterized by dark stripes, or an extensive black spot across the entire body.

Only at first glance, their skull looks fragile, but in reality the bones are very strong and thick. Anteaters are very similar to armadillos and sloths. Fundamental difference is that they have no teeth at all.

Distribution area

Representatives of this family flooded several continents at once. Where the anteater lives, it is mostly warm and humid. This area is often rainforest. This is how you can answer the question, where does the anteater live, in what natural zone?

You can meet these amazing and cute animals all over from Mexico to Central America. And also in Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay. Where the anteater lives, in what zone, you will learn from this article. To be precise, it's wet. rainforests and grassy savanna.

Most often, when figuring out where the anteater lives, the photo of which is in this article, the researchers note that these are forests in the tropics. But often you can meet him in open spaces. For example, on the banks of rivers in the savannas.

Now you know where the anteater lives, on which mainland. Animals lead a terrestrial lifestyle, however, mainly this applies to the giant anteater. Arboreal way of life in pygmy anteaters. But one of the most common species of four-toed anteaters leads a combined life - both in trees and on the ground.

diet

The period of their activity falls on the dark time of the day. It begins as soon as dusk descends on the earth, and continues throughout the night. The diet of an anteater cannot be called very diverse. Mostly, these are termites or ants. The heroes of our article destroy their buildings with their powerful front paws. After that, they begin to collect insects with a long and sticky tongue.

They occasionally feed on bees or beetle larvae. Anteaters, which are kept in the zoo, allow themselves a more varied menu. For example, they eat fruit. Recall that they have no teeth, so one of the sections of the stomach is equipped with powerful muscles to grind all the food that enters the body. Similar structure internal organs seen in birds. So they manage to grind food. This process is enhanced by small pebbles or sand, which anteaters often accidentally swallow.

sense organs

Anteaters have an excellent sense of smell. At the same time, vision and hearing are very weak. They are protected from predators by powerful claws. At the same time, they lead a predominantly solitary lifestyle. In pairs, only females with cubs can be found. Anteaters breed once a year. The female gives birth to one child, who lives on her back for the entire period of infancy.

Interestingly, anteaters appeared on Earth a long time ago. Their fossils are most often found in South America. Approximately from the period of the early Miocene, which began 23 million years ago. Most scientists are convinced that anteaters are even older. However, in recent years their numbers have declined markedly. But they are not included in almost any Red Books.

Four-toed anteater

In order to get to know these animals better, let's focus on one of the most common representatives - the four-fingered anteater. This is a funny and very attractive animal.

The body of this particular anteater has a length of 55 to 90 centimeters. And this is not counting the tail, which reaches up to half a meter in length. The total body weight of individual individuals reaches five kilograms.

This species of anteater is also called the Mexican tamandua, from the name it becomes clear where the anteater lives. He has a curved and elongated muzzle, his mouth is very small in diameter. It is only sufficient to pass the tongue, the length of which, with such body parameters, is really impressive. Tamandua's tongue is about 40 centimeters long.

Like all four-toed anteaters, the tamandua has a tenacious tail, in some representatives it is completely naked, in others it is naked only from below. he himself irregular shape covered with marks of various sizes. Tamandua's eyes are very weak, they see extremely poorly. Wherein big ears, which almost always stand upright, indicate that this organ is playing big role in their life. They receive most of the information about the world around them through hearing. On the front paws, they can see four toes with claws on each, and on the hind legs, five claws.

The fur of this anteater is thick and hard, often very bristling. To protect themselves from predators and other detractors, Mexican tamanduas can emit a strong, foul-smelling odor from their anal glands. This happens when they sense impending danger. For this feature, they were even nicknamed forest stinkers.

Where does the anteater tamandua live?

Specifically, this anteater lives in the forests of the South American continent. It can be found from Trinidad all the way to Venezuela. It lives in the northern part of Argentina, Uruguay, in the south of Brazil. Specifically, Mexican tamanduas are found in Central America. They can be found and photographed even in the southeast of Mexico. natural area where anteaters live are the tropics and savannahs.

Most often they choose forest edges, and at a fairly low altitude - up to two thousand meters above sea level. They like to live near small reservoirs, as well as next to trees - epiphytes and lianas.

Lifestyle

Like other anteaters, four-toed anteaters stay awake at night. In the daytime, they are in hollows or burrows. But Mexican tamanduas can be found day and night. They are able to stay awake up to eight hours a day.

Often they eat without even descending from the trees. On the ground they walk little, slowly and clumsily. In this, they are very different from giant anteaters, which are capable of developing very high speeds.

The way they move is interesting. In order not to injure sensitive feet when walking, they move on the outer ribs of the feet. And the clawed front paws are used for self-defense. If it fell out to fight with the enemy on a tree, they tightly clasp the branch with both paws. When they are on the ground, they lean against some kind of support. For example, to a tree trunk or rock. They also have a very funny defensive tactic - fall on their backs and fight back with all four legs. Their main detractors are big snakes, eagles and jaguars.

How long do anteaters live?

Scientists managed to fix the maximum life span of anteaters nine and a half years. Females become sexually mature by the end of the first year of life. Pregnancy lasts four and a half to five months. The only cub is born in spring.

Anteaters feed on termites and ants. They detect them by smell. At the same time, those species that emit caustic and dangerous substances are determined in advance. chemical substances and they are not eaten. They love bees and honey. In captivity, they even agree to meat.

The value of anteaters for humans

Surprisingly, among the Amazonian natives, four-toed anteaters live at home. They are kept to fight termites and ants that enter the dwelling.

And there is value in their tail veins. They make strong ropes.

Marsupial anteater or nambat- a rare mammal of the marsupial anteater family; the only representative of the family of the same name.

The dimensions of this marsupial are small: body length 17-27 cm, tail - 13-17 cm. The weight of an adult animal ranges from 280 to 550 g; males are larger than females. The head of the marsupial anteater is flattened, the muzzle is elongated and pointed, the mouth is small. The worm-like tongue can protrude from the mouth by almost 10 cm. The eyes are large, the ears are pointed. The tail is long, fluffy, like a squirrel, not grasping. Usually the nambat holds it horizontally, with the tip slightly curved upwards. The paws are rather short, widely spaced, armed with strong claws.

The hairline of the nambat is thick and hard. Nambat is one of the most beautiful marsupials in Australia: it is painted in grayish brown or reddish color. The hair on the back and upper thighs is covered with 6-12 white or cream stripes. The eastern nambats have a more uniform color than the western ones. A black longitudinal stripe is visible on the muzzle. The belly and limbs are yellow-white, buffy.

The teeth of the marsupial anteater are very small, weak and often asymmetrical: the molars on the right and left can have different lengths and widths. In total, the nambat has 50-52 teeth.

Prior to European colonization, the nambat was common in Western and Southern Australia, from the borders of New South Wales and Victoria to the coast. indian ocean, in the north reaching the southwestern part of the Northern Territory. Now the range is limited only to the south-west of Western Australia. Nambat inhabits mainly eucalyptus and acacia forests and dry woodlands.

Nambat feeds almost exclusively on termites, less often on ants. It eats other invertebrates only occasionally. In captivity, the marsupial anteater eats up to 20,000 termites daily. Nambat searches for food with the help of its extremely acute sense of smell.

Since the limbs and claws of the marsupial anteater (unlike other myrmecophages - echidnas, anteaters, aardvarks) are weak and unable to cope with a strong termite mound, it hunts mainly during the day, when insects move in underground galleries or under the bark of trees in search of food. Nambat daily activity synchronized with termite activity and temperature environment. So in the summer, by the middle of the day, the soil warms up very much, and the insects go deep underground, so the nambats switch to a twilight lifestyle; in winter, they feed from morning until noon, for about 4 hours a day.

Nambat is quite agile, can climb trees; at the slightest danger hides in a shelter. He spends the night in secluded places (shallow burrows, hollows of trees) on a litter of bark, leaves and dry grass. His sleep is very deep, similar to suspended animation. There are many cases when people, along with deadwood, accidentally burned nambats, who did not have time to wake up. Except for the breeding season, marsupial anteaters keep alone, occupying an individual territory of up to 150 hectares. When caught, the nambat does not bite or scratch, but only whistles or grumbles abruptly.

The mating season for nambats lasts from December to April. The female carries the cubs on her stomach for about 4 months, until their size reaches 4-5 cm. Then she leaves the offspring in a shallow hole or hollow, continuing to come at night to feed. The young remain with their mother for up to 9 months, finally leaving her in December. Sexual maturity occurs in the second year of life.

Life expectancy (in captivity) - up to 6 years.

In connection with the economic development and clearing of land, the number of marsupial anteater has sharply decreased. However, the main reason for the decrease in its numbers is the pursuit of predators. Because of their diurnal lifestyle, nambats are more vulnerable than most small marsupials; they are hunted by birds of prey, dingoes, feral dogs and cats, and especially red foxes, which in the 19th century. brought to Australia. Foxes have completely wiped out the nambat population in Victoria, South Australia and the Northern Territory; they survived only in the form of two small populations near Perth. In the late 1970s nambats numbered less than 1000 individuals.

As a result of intensive protective measures, the destruction of foxes and the reintroduction of nambats, the population was able to increase. However, this animal is still included in the lists of the International Red Book with the status of "disappearing" (Endangered).

See information about other representatives of the fauna of Australia, including a representative of the family of two-bladed marsupials - the wombat and representatives of the genus of mammals of the family of carnivorous marsupials -