Hand-raised numbats turn one in major conservation milestone

Thanks to the dedication of Perth Zoo’s wildlife experts, two hand-raised numbats were given a second chance at life and are now celebrating their first birthday!

Born through Perth Zoo’s collaborative breed-for-release program, numbats Sam and Mack, had a tricky start to life and were unfortunately mismothered in their early days. 

As an endangered species, every individual numbat born through our breeding program is incredibly important. That’s why our dedicated animal carers stepped up to hand-raise the small joeys. 

Perth Zoo

Armed with a special marsupial milk and plenty of determination, the keepers and vet teams poured hours of TLC into the small numbats, with round the clock feeds and regular weigh-ins.

Now, one year later, Sam and Mack are thriving! They’ve ‘graduated’ from the special Numbat nursery and are now living independently just like other Numbats their age would.

Perth Zoo

While their cute and fuzzy charm is sure to capture your hearts, this milestone is so much more than just adorable baby animals. With less than 2000 of these iconic marsupials estimated remaining in the wild, every tiny individual born makes a huge impact on the conservation efforts.

Perth Zoo Numbat Keeper Renee Bauhofer said the pair turning one was a major milestone and a representation of how zoos can change the course of history.

Perth Zoo is the ONLY zoological institution in the world that breeds Numbats for release into the wild. Through our collaborative program, Perth Zoo works with the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions’ Parks and Wildlife Service, and Biodiversity Conservation Science team to bolster wild populations.

Since the first release of Perth Zoo-bred numbats into the wild in 1993, more than 300 Zoo-bred numbats have been released into safe habitat.

With each passing year, Perth Zoo's Numbat conservation program grows stronger, and the first birthday of Mackenzie and Sam serves as a beacon of hope, inspiring continued efforts to protect and preserve endangered species for generations to come.