Help the numbat

Project Numbat is calling for final donations for the annual Call for Collars campaign.

The campaign involves raising funds for the purchase of radio-tracking collars for numbats either born in the Perth Zoo breeding program or captured from the wild.

The money is provided to the Numbat Recovery Team chairman and principal research scientist at the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Dr Tony Friend.

Project Numbat president Adam Cross said it was important for numbats to be fitted with the collars.

“Feral cats, if uncontrolled, can be a major predator of numbats,” Mr Cross said.

“The ongoing monitoring of wild and captive-bred numbats continues to provide important information on population numbers in Dryandra.

“It has been revealed there was no feral cat predation on collared numbats since February, 2015 until early this year when a zoo-born male released into Dryandra last year was taken by a cat.”

This year’s Call for Collars campaign closes on December 13, and Project Numbat is looking to raise funds for six more collars.

Each collar costs $280 and can be bought through the organisation’s website.

In recognition of their donation, contributors will receive a certificate with a photo and details of the collared numbat.

DBCA staff fit the collars which allow the department to track the numbats’ wellbeing.

Mr Cross said the campaign had raised funds for more than 140 collars through donations from members, schools and the public.

Numbats were once common in southern Australia but are now isolated to the South West in the Dryandra Woodlands and Perup Nature Reserve.