Marsupial anteater. Nambat or marsupial anteater (lat.

Marsupial anteater(lat. Myrmecobius fasciatus) is the only representative of the family of the same name living in Australia. Locals call it nambat and consider it one of the most colorful animals on the continent.

The back of the marsupial anteater is decorated with cream or white stripes in the amount of 6 to 12 pieces. The eyes are lined with black arrows, and the paws are “dressed” in light red socks. The rest of the fur is grayish-brown or reddish in color.

The nambat is a small animal with an elongated body measuring 17 to 23 cm and a fluffy thin tail 13 to 17 cm long. It has a flattened head with a pointed muzzle and a small mouth.

The ears are sharp, the eyes are large. A long, worm-like ten-centimeter tongue serves as the main tool for extracting its main food - termites. Other insects can enter the numbat's stomach only by accident.

Since the short legs of the marsupial anteater are rather weak and do not have strong and sharp claws that can destroy the walls of the termite mound, it has to look for its prey in the bark of trees or a short distance underground. That is why the nambats lead the day or twilight image life, adapting to the daily routine of termites.

These small predators have an incredibly sensitive sense of smell, which allows them to instantly detect insects. Smelling the smell of a delicacy, the marsupial anteater sits on its hind legs and quickly digs up the soil with its front legs or tears rotten wood into pieces. Then, with quick movements of its flexible tongue, it pulls out termites one by one and swallows them almost entirely, only slightly chewing them.

Although the nambat has about fifty teeth, they are all very small and weak, so it does not pose a danger to humans. Moreover, when the animal is keen on eating food, you can easily pet it or even pick it up - and it does not scratch or bite, but only grumbles with dissatisfaction.

Marsupial anteaters live alone, meeting only to mate. short time summer, which is known to begin in December in Australia. Literally after a couple of weeks, the female gives birth to two to four tiny nambatics, only 1 cm in size.

Despite the name, their mother does not have a brood pouch, so the babies are forced to independently make their way to one of her four nipples in order to cling to it and not let go for as long as 3-4 months.

When the body length of the cubs reaches 5 cm, the mother leaves them in a shallow burrow or spacious hollow, returning to them to feed only at night. At the beginning of September, nambatiks begin to explore the surroundings and switch to a mixed diet, consisting of nourishing mother's milk and termites. At 9 months they finally leave their mother, but they become old enough to continue the family only in the second year of life. The lifespan of a nambat is about 6 years.

flickr/Morland Smith

Have Australian anteater interesting feature: at night he sleeps in a truly heroic sleep, falling into a kind of suspended animation. In this state the foxes find him and - natural enemies nimble animal. In addition, there are cases where people accidentally burned sleepy animals without noticing them in the pile of dead wood collected for the fire.

All this put the marsupial anteater in a very vulnerable position. It is an endangered species and is listed in the International Red Book. The Australian authorities are doing everything possible to preserve this unique representative of the local fauna.

For many years, the fauna of Australia has been considered the most unusual on the entire planet. In ancient times, almost all animals were marsupials. Currently there are Not large number.

Among them we can highlight Nambata- a small marsupial animal, which is the only representative of its kind. To date nambat lives only in the southwestern regions.

Appearance and features of the nambat

Nambat- cute animal, the size of which is no larger than a domestic cat, is rightfully considered the most beautiful on the entire Australian mainland. The top of the animal's head and scruff are covered with reddish-brown fur with a slight gray streak. The back is covered with transverse white and black stripes, and the belly fur is slightly lighter.

Maximum length the body reaches twenty-seven centimeters, and the fifteen-centimeter tail is decorated with silver-white hairs. The anteater's head is slightly flattened, the muzzle is slightly elongated and decorated with dark stripes with a white border up to the pointed ears. The animal's front legs have short, splayed toes with sharp nails, and its hind legs are four-toed.

Teeth marsupial numbat slightly underdeveloped, the size of the molars on both sides may differ. The animal differs from mammals in having a long, hard palate.

The peculiarities of the marsupial anteater include the ability to extend its tongue, the length of which reaches almost half of its own body. The animal, unlike other representatives of marsupials, lacks a pouch on its stomach.

Nambat lifestyle and habitat

Many years ago, the animals were distributed throughout the mainland. But due to the large number of wild animals brought to Australia and hunted, the number of anteaters has sharply decreased. To date nambat habitat- these are eucalyptus forests and dry woodlands Western Australia.

The anteater is considered a predatory animal and feeds mainly on termites, which they hunt only during daylight hours. In the middle of summer, the earth heats up very much, and termites have to hide and go deep underground. During this period, anteaters need to go hunting in evening time for fear of attack.

The nambat is a very agile animal, so in case of danger it can climb a tree in a short time. Small burrows and tree hollows serve as shelter for the animals at night.

Animals prefer to be completely alone. The exception is the breeding season. Anteaters are kind animals: they do not bite or scratch. When threatened, they only whistle and grumble a little.

TO interesting facts O nambatah can be attributed to their sound sleep. There are many known cases when a large number of anteaters died when burning dead wood: they simply did not have time to wake up!

Nutrition

Numbat feeds mainly termites, very rarely they eat ants or invertebrate animals. Before swallowing food, the anteater crushes it using the bony palate.

Short and weak legs do not make it possible to dig up termite mounds, so the animals hunt by adapting to the regime when they leave their burrows.

Anteaters hunt insects and termites thanks to their acute sense of smell. When they detect prey with the help of sharp claws, they dig up the soil, break branches and only then catch them with a sticky long tongue.

To be completely saturated, a nambat needs to eat about twenty thousand termites during the day, which takes about five hours to find. While eating prey, numbats do not perceive the surrounding reality: they are not at all interested in what is happening around them. Therefore, very often tourists have the opportunity to pick them up or stroke them without fear of attack from them.

Reproduction and lifespan

Mating season nambatov begins in December and lasts until mid-April. During this period, anteaters leave their secluded havens and go out in search of a female. With the help of a secretion produced by a special skin gland on the chest, they mark the bark of trees and the ground.

The cubs are born in a two-meter burrow two weeks after mating with the female. They are more like underdeveloped embryos: the body barely reaches ten millimeters and is not covered with hair. At one time, a female can give birth to up to four babies, which constantly hang on the nipples and are held in place by her fur.

The female carries her cubs for about four months until they reach five centimeters in size. After which she finds a secluded place for them in a small hole or hollow of a tree and appears only at night to feed.

Around September, the cubs slowly begin to lick out of the hole. And in October they try termites for the first time, while mother’s milk is their main food.

Young nambats live next to their mother until December and only after that leave her. Young anteaters begin to mate from the second year of life. The lifespan of an adult nambat is approximately six years.

Marsupial anteaters are very beautiful and harmless animals, the population of which is decreasing every year. The reasons for this are attacks by predatory animals and an increase in agricultural land. Therefore, some time ago they were listed in Krasnaya as an endangered species of animal.

Squad - Marsupials

Family - Marsupial anteaters

Genus/Species - Myrmecobius fasciatus. Marsupial anteater, or nambat, or anteater

Basic data:

DIMENSIONS

Body length with head: 27.5 cm, males are larger than females.

Tail length: 16-21 cm.

Weight: 280-550 g.

REPRODUCTION

Puberty: from 11 months.

Mating season: usually December-April.

Pregnancy: 14 days.

Number of cubs: 2-4.

Number of litters: for 1 year.

LIFESTYLE

Habits: marsupial anteaters (see photo) stay alone; active during the daytime.

What it eats: mainly termites.

Sounds: sniffling, irritated hissing.

Lifespan: 3-4 years.

RELATED SPECIES

The family of marsupial anteaters, or nambats, is represented by a single species.

Nambat. Video (00:04:23)

Although the marsupial anteater belongs to the order Marsupials, it lacks the brood pouch characteristic of them. Nambat cubs cling to the long curly hair on their mother's belly. Despite the name of the family, the animal very rarely hunts ants - its favorite delicacies are termites.

WHAT DOES IT EAT?

Termites are the numbats' favorite food; less often they feast on ants. Thanks to its sensitive nose, the animal easily finds termite passages even underground and under a layer of branches that lie on its surface. With the help of strong claws, the marsupial anteater only removes top layer turf to open termite trails, and never rakes the soil deeper. Often this animal, in order to get to the “tidbits”, tears apart termite-infested wood with its powerful claws. The marsupial anteater nambat catches insects with a long sticky tongue, which can protrude 10 cm. The nambat is extremely mobile and very strong tongue, with which he can move branches. Using its long, pointed nose as a lever, it lifts rocks and branches under which insects may be hiding. For a marsupial, the numbat has a lot of teeth, but it swallows its prey whole. By stirring layers of fallen leaves and examining the soil, the nambat quite often finds large insects. He sweeps them into his mouth with his sticky tongue, bites them several times and then swallows them - along with the earth and stones that accidentally fell on his tongue.

PLACE OF RESIDENCE

The natural habitat of the marsupial anteater is the forests of south-west Australia, consisting of Eucalyptus reflexum, or vandu, trees. Nambat chooses such forests for the reason that eucalyptus trees constantly drop termite-infested branches to the ground - and this is exactly what he needs: the marsupial anteater feeds on termites, and the fallen branches provide him with shelter. Most of the day the animal is busy searching for food. It runs along branches lying on the ground or moves in short jumps. Nambat often stops, stands up in a column and looks around carefully, checking if there is any danger nearby. Noticing danger - say, an eagle circling in the sky - he instantly hides in the nest.

Having had a good lunch, the animal loves to bask in the sun, doing this quite often. During such a “sunbath”, he takes a funny pose - he lies on his back, with his paws spread wide, his mouth open and his tongue sticking out. Numbats live alone and are diurnal. When night falls, the marsupial anteater settles down for the night in a hollow tree or in thickets of plants. The nambat nest is lined with dry leaves and grass.

REPRODUCTION

Outside the breeding season, numbats lead a solitary lifestyle. Only during the rutting period, which lasts from December to April, can you see animals that live in pairs.

From January to May, from 2 to 4 cubs are born in a nest or shallow hole dug by the female specifically for this purpose. Baby numbats have a significantly shorter nose than an adult animal. Since the female does not have a brood pouch, newborn marsupial anteaters hold tightly to the long fur on the mother's belly. Feeding the cubs with milk lasts several months. Already in July-August, the mother, going in search of food, leaves the cubs alone in the hole. Lactation stops when the cubs reach six months of age and are able to obtain food on their own. At first, the growing cubs live on the mother’s territory, gradually acquiring the skills of an adult animal, and by December (the beginning of summer in Australia) they already begin an independent life. The animals become sexually mature at the age of one year. Soon they begin to multiply.

GENERAL PROVISIONS

The name "Nambat" was given to the marsupial anteater by the indigenous people of Australia. The animal is small, slightly larger than an ordinary squirrel, leading night look life. The nambat's food consists almost entirely of termites. He can also look for them in trees. With lightning-fast movements, the numbat takes out termites one by one with its thin and flexible tongue. He pounces on food with such greed that you can touch him at this time and he will not interrupt his meal. Unlike true anteaters, the marsupial anteater has small teeth.

Nambat has the habit of sleeping so soundly during the day that you can pick him up without waking him up. Because of this feature, it is in danger of extinction. IN lately due to human fault in Australia have become more frequent forest fires. Slow marsupial anteaters die in fires because they cannot wake up in time.

INTERESTING INFORMATION. DID YOU KNOW THAT...

• Nambat is the only one among marsupials of Australia, who leads an exclusively daytime lifestyle.
• If a nambat is surprised or caught, it never resists and confines itself to hissing.
• The tongue of the nambat has a cylindrical shape and reaches 10 cm in length.
• Nambat eats about 20,000 termites every day.
• At night, the animal falls into a deep sleep, similar to suspended animation.
• The marsupial anteater has a record among land mammals the number of teeth is usually from 50 to 52. However, the nambat, accustomed to swallowing food whole, rarely uses them.

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF NAMBAT. DESCRIPTION

Wool: gray, reddish in places, with white guard hairs; there are 8 white stripes on the back and rump; The fur is short and thick, longer on the belly - the cubs are hidden in it.

Nose: long and bony, convenient for digging earth and turning over stones.

Mouth opening: in the small oral cavity there is a long sticky tongue, perfectly adapted for catching termites.

Limbs: short and powerful. The forelimbs are five-fingered, the hind limbs are four-fingered. All fingers end in strong claws - a tool for digging hard earth, moss and breaking dead wood.

Tail: long and fluffy. An excited animal has fur on its tail that bristles.

- Habitat of the nambat

WHERE DOES HE LIVE?

The marsupial anteater lives in eucalyptus forests and bushland in southwestern Australia.

PROTECTION AND PRESERVATION

Nambat is a very rare animal. The reason was the appearance of foxes, dogs and cats on the continent. Quite often, animals that slept on dry windfall were burned by farmers or lumberjacks who used the dead wood as firewood. Nowadays stations are organized artificial breeding marsupial anteaters.

Marsupial anteater. Video (00:03:05)

Nambat. Video (00:03:58)

The marsupial anteater, or nambat (Myrmecobius fasciatus) is a mammal of the family of marsupial anteaters, lives in. The marsupial anteater inhabits mainly eucalyptus and acacia forests and dry woodlands.
The dimensions of the marsupial anteater are small: body length is 17-27 cm, tail - 13-17 cm, the weight of an adult animal ranges from 280 to 550 g. The head of the marsupial anteater is flattened, the muzzle is elongated and pointed, the mouth is small. The worm-shaped tongue can protrude almost 10 cm from the mouth, the eyes are large, the ears are pointed, the tail is long and fluffy, like a squirrel. The paws of the marsupial anteater are rather short, widely spaced with strong claws, the forelimbs have 5 fingers, the hind limbs have 4 fingers.

The marsupial anteater is one of the most beautiful marsupials in Australia: it is grayish-brown or reddish in color. The fur on the back and upper thighs is covered with 6-12 white or cream stripes. The eastern nambats have a more uniform coloration than the western ones. A black longitudinal stripe is visible on the muzzle. The belly and limbs are yellow-white, buffy.

The teeth of the marsupial anteater are very small, weak and often asymmetrical: the molars on the right and left may have different lengths and width, the marsupial anteater has 50-52 teeth in total. The hard palate extends much further than in most mammals, which is typical for other “long-tongued” animals (pangolins, armadillos).

The marsupial anteater feeds almost exclusively on termites, less often on ants, and eats other invertebrates only by accident. It is the only marsupial that feeds only on social insects; in captivity, the marsupial anteater eats up to 20 thousand termites every day. The marsupial anteater searches for food using its extremely acute sense of smell. With the claws of its front paws, it digs up the soil or breaks rotten wood, then catches termites with its sticky tongue, swallowing the prey whole or after slightly chewing the chitinous shells.

The marsupial anteater is quite agile and can climb trees; at the slightest danger he hides in cover. It spends the night in secluded places (shallow burrows, tree hollows) on a bed of bark, leaves and dry grass. His sleep is very deep, similar to suspended animation. There are many cases where people, along with dead wood, accidentally burned a marsupial anteater that did not have time to wake up.

With the exception of the breeding season, marsupial anteaters remain solitary, occupying an individual territory of up to 150 hectares. When caught, the marsupial anteater does not bite or scratch, but only whistles abruptly or grumbles.
The mating season for nambats lasts from December to April. At this time, males leave their hunting areas and go in search of females, marking trees and the ground with an oily secretion produced by a special skin gland on the chest.
Tiny (10 mm long), blind and hairless cubs are born 2 weeks after mating. There are 2-4 cubs in a litter. Since the female does not have a brood pouch, they hang on the nipples, clinging to the mother’s fur. According to some reports, birth occurs in a hole 1-2 m long. The female carries the cubs on her stomach for about 4 months, until their size reaches 4-5 cm. Then she leaves the offspring in a shallow hole or hollow, continuing to come at night to feed.

By the beginning of September, young numbats begin to leave the hole for a short time. By October, they switch to a mixed diet of termites and mother's milk. The young remain with their mother for up to 9 months, finally leaving her in December. Puberty occurs in the second year of life.

Due to economic development and land clearing, the number of marsupial anteater has sharply decreased. However, the main reason for the decrease in its numbers is the persecution of predators. Due to their diurnal lifestyle, marsupial anteaters are more vulnerable than most small marsupials; they are hunted birds of prey, dingoes, feral dogs and cats and especially red foxes.

The marsupial anteater, or nambat, as it is also called, is the only representative of the family. This is such a unique beast. Nowadays, the animal is quite rare, although previously the numbat was found quite often in Australia.

Now it is difficult to find the animal; this can only be done in the south of Australia. Why do they live here? Experts say that the reason lies in termites that live in Australia. Termites are both the main dish in the diet of marsupial anteaters and the builders of hollows, which are housing for numbats.

Appearance The animal is quite bright, so it is easy to distinguish it. The anteater is indeed a very beautiful animal and cannot but arouse admiration. The first thing that catches your eye is the animal’s long body and pointed muzzle. Interestingly, the nambat has a lot of teeth. Few people may believe it, but he has more than fifty teeth in his mouth. None of the mammals can boast of such wealth. And the animal’s tongue is quite special, it is very long and pointed at the end.

In the photo - the original ones anteaters or numbats:

An animal evokes an extremely pleasant impression when you see it live, although few have such an opportunity. What do anteaters eat? It’s stupid to ask this question, because the answer is given in the very name of the nambat. The animal is quite good at finding ants. It simultaneously swallows several dozen ants and feels just fine. The numbat also eats resin, which can be found on trees.

Air Force. Nambati