Endangered Australian native animals and plants given protection in new national park south of Perth
- Dryandra Woodland National Park in Western Australia is a haven for small marsupials facing extinction from habitat loss and predation by feral cats and foxes
- Hiking trails lead visitors into lush groves where hundreds of wildflower species bloom, or they can drive around. Tour guides show them nocturnal animals
Numbats, bilbies, woylies, quenda, malas and boodies may all sound like creatures found in a fantasy novel, but they are all real marsupials that are being given a helping hand to avoid extinction in one of Australia’s newest national parks.
Numbats have pointed noses, long tongues for catching insects and red-brown fur marked by white stripes. They are between 30cm (1ft) and 45cm in length, including their bushy tails.
About 99 per cent of Australia’s numbat population has died out and there are fewer than 1,000 of these creatures left; they are headed for extinction because of habitat destruction and predation by foxes and feral cats.
However, the numbat is being given a safe haven in the Dryandra Woodland National Park, in Western Australia.
A two-hour drive southeast of the state capital, Perth, Dryandra, which was given national park status in January, comprises 280 sq km (108 square miles) of pristine forest sprouting from rolling laterite hills.
