The Diet of the Numbat

Numbats, found only in Western Australia, are the only marsupials whose diets consist strictly of insects. They use their long, sticky tongue to collect the insects and draw them into their mouths.

  1. Termites

    • Numbats feasts almost entirely on termites. The average adult numbat consumes about 20,000 termites a day. Since they do not have strong claws to tear open termite nests, they rely on their strong sense of smell to find termite passageways in the soil. Numbats use their long noses to sift through the dirt for food.

    Ants

    • Although numbats are often called the "banded ant eater," ants are not generally a part of their diets. Numbats occasionally eat ants encountered while they are feeding on termites.

    Water

    • Numbats do not drink water directly, but they get plenty of it. They take in all of their water requirements by eating termites, which drink a lot of water and in turn supply all the water a numbat needs to survive.