1st November World Numbat Day

World Numbat Day is a day to appreciate this amazing yet threatened mammal and encourage the action to conserve the species.

A numbat is a small termite-eating marsupial that lives in Australia. It has a black and white striped back along with a bushy tail. A few other names for the numbat include the banded anteater, noombat, and walpurti. Its long, sticky tongue helps it capture underground termites. While numbats are considered marsupials, they don’t really have a pouch to carry their young. Instead, they have skinfolds that cover their babies while they drink milk from their mother.

The Numbat is Western Australia’s mammal emblem. Numbats have a very specialised diet almost exclusively of termites. They are diurnal, which means they feed during the day. During the day the sun heats up the upper layers soil, increases the temperature. The termites move in to a network of shallow tunnels and chambers just below the ground surface, making it easier to get a meal.

Numbats are under threat from habitat loss and introduced predators including foxes and feral cats. Their population is estimated at fewer than 1000 individuals and help is needed to protect the future of this unique marsupial.

There are not a large number of picture books about numbats, but what there is will give you insight into the unique qualities of this animal.

We have two very old books that I still use with students:

• Potoroos and Numbats by Debbie Gallagher

• Numbat, Run  by Jill Morris

This book includes a story, a poem, an interview with a scientist, and an indigenous numbat story.

Other books that are still available:

• The Two-Hearted Numbat by Ambelin and Ezekiel Kwaymullina

• Rufus the Numbat  by David Miller

• Numby the Numbat  by Tim Faulkner

2nd November World Numbat Day

On the first Saturday in November it is  World Numbat Day, a day to show our appreciation for this amazing mammal. It's also a day to encourage action to help conserve these endangered animals. I know it's not the 2nd of November, but I thought I'd written before about Numbat Day so didn't do it on the 2nd and now I realise I haven't and there are some books to explore.

What's a numbat? The Numbat, also called the banded anteater, is a small endangered marsupial animal native to parts of Australia. They are one of the more unusual Australian marsupials because unlike most of other native species they're active during the day, are carnivorous, have an incredibly long tongue and their diet is almost exclusively termites.

Year 2 classes and I have had some very memorable teaching moments while sharing The Two-Hearted Numbat by Indigenous author illustrators, Amberlin and Ezekiel Kwaymullina. There is so much to talk about in this book and that conversation makes it easy for the students to identify the theme of the story. They love the illustrations and the glossy paper in the book too.

The Numbat by David Miller is an imaginative tale which challenges readers to wonder what would happen if animals infringed on the lives of humans. This lively picture book introduces young readers to the fragile relationship between humans and animals, as well as strong themes about respecting animal habitats and behaviours, the effect of humans encroaching on the habitats of our native animals and the place of animals in our ever-expanding built world. It too, has amazing illustrations made from paper sculptures.

Then if you look further, your library may have some of these:

3rd November World Numbat Day

The numbat is one of those unique Australian animals. I know we have so many and this is not one that students generally know a lot about, so why not celebrate World Numbat Day? This website tells students what they need to know and shows them visually what makes them special. As well look for these in your school library  to use for a display and student reading.

4th November World Numbat Day

What is a numbat? It is a small marsupial that is now only native to Western Australia. It was once found across most of Southern Australia, but now it is in threat of extinction. So on World Numbat Day we celebrate Western Australia's unique mammal emblem and are encouraged to conserve the species. Like many of Australia's smaller marsupials it is threatened by foxes, feral cats and loss of habitat. Project Numbat works tirelessly to promote community awareness. Tomorrow in the library I will put these books out on display to remind the students about this interesting marsupial and its place in our unique fauna.