Native to the woodlands of Western Australia, the numbat---a banded anteater---is a small marsupial that lives on termites alone. These tiny striped brownish-red creatures have long sticky tongues for catching up to 20,000 termites a day. Their bodies are built similarly to kangaroos and are about 10 inches long with a longer bushy tail that resembles a squirrel. They are the only marsupials that live on insects only.
The introduction of foxes to Western Australia and the loss of natural woodland habitat have caused a dramatic decrease in Numbat numbers. They are extremely rare in the wild. In 1982, the Numbat was considered the world's most endangered animal at only 200, according to the Foundation for Australia's Most Endangered Species website.
The banded hare wallaby is an endangered species that resides in small numbers on the islands of Bernier and Dorre in Shark Bay off Western Australia's coast, according to the Earth's Endangered Creatures website.
These marsupials are small and weigh less than three pounds. They have long soft fur and short ears and tails. They grow to around a foot tall and often sit in a crouching position like a rabbit. This relaxed position and their ability to jump like rabbits is reflected in their name---Banded "Hare" Wallaby.
These wallabies are vegetarians and prefer to eat fruit and shrubs at night. They tend to be sociable with other animals and hang out in the shade during the hot days with other animals. The disappearance of these creatures is due to the destruction of their natural habitat for use as agricultural land as well as the threat from introduced predators such as foxes and cats. There were less than 10,000 of these animals in existence in 1992 and their populations are believed to be far less now. There is no official recent estimation.
Australia is home to three types of wombats and the Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombat is the most endangered of the three. This species has only been known since 1937 and its numbers have dwindled to only 113 in existence in 2010, according to the Foundation for Australia's Most Endangered Species website.
Today all 113 of these wombats exist in a protected environment within the Epping National Forest Park in Queensland. The clearing of land has made for mostly unsuitable habitats for these creatures in the wild and dingoes have been a constant danger to the population. Still, FAME is working aggressively to rebuild the species.
