Found abandoned and separated from his mother, Frankie the orphaned Numbat is receiving expert care from keepers at Australia’s Perth Zoo.

Photo Credit:  Perth Zoo

Estimated to be about six to seven months old, Frankie is too young to survive on his own. Keepers have been working around the clock, feeding this baby Numbat more than five times a day.  He eagerly laps up milk from a tiny bowl.  He eats well and is gaining strength every day.

Frankie is so small that he fits right into his keepers’ hands.  They describe him as exceptionally relaxed and confident for a wild Numbat. 

This little orphan was brought to the zoo by a Project Numbat, community group dedicated to saving this endangered species.  The Perth Zoo has the world’s only Numbat breeding program.

Numbats are marsupials – after birth, their young nurse and develop inside the mothers’ pouch.  Adults weigh about one to two pounds and feed exclusively on termites.  They are currently found in only a few small colonies in Western Australia.  Only about 1,000 Numbats are believed to survive in the wild.