SYDNEY, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- A nationwide crackdown on predatory feral cats has been credited for helping boost numbers of an endangered Australian marsupial.

An annual count of numbats, a small insectivorous marsupial, in the Dryandra Woodland National Park, 140 km southeast of Perth in Western Australia (WA), found 25 individuals, including infants, earlier in December.

It marks an increase from the five individuals counted in the 2018 survey and 10 in 2019.

Tony Friend, a retired wildlife biologist who has been participating in the survey since 1987, attributed the species' resurgence to the management of feral animals.

"Predation of numbers by cats has just dropped off entirely," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Thursday.

"The odd one happens, but it's nothing like it used to be, so we can attribute the increase in numbers to that cat management."

The national park is home to one of only two known wild populations of numbats in WA.

The species was once widespread across southern Australia but is now only found in the wild in WA, where it is the state's faunal emblem, and in fenced reserves in southeastern Australia.

The federal government in 2015 declared 'war' on feral cats to reduce their impact on Australia's native biodiversity. According to the government, feral cats kill over 1.5 billion native animals in Australia every year.

Friend said on Thursday that about half of the predation of numbats in the Dryandra Woodland National Park in 2012/13 was by cats.

He said that baiting, shooting and trapping efforts in the region are now reducing their impact.

The 25 numbats counted in the 2024 survey was a slight decline from 2023, but Friend said it indicated sustained population stability.

Researchers fitted several of the individuals with tracking collars to determine their movements, breeding habits and which predators are threatening the animals. Enditem

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