WA numbats ready for Operation Babies

Eight young numbats will take a walk on the wild side in Western Australia next week.

After intensive training, the female marsupials will go undercover into Batalling State Forest, near Collie.

Their mission south of Perth? Get pregnant, fast. And avoid being eaten.

The numbats will be the latest of their breed to be freed by a joint Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) and Perth Zoo conservation project.

On Thursday, scientists at the zoo helped fit radio collars so their mating success can be checked.

"We know there are males out there and we are just hoping they will get together in the next few months and produce some babies," said research scientist Dr Tony Friend.

"It's a dangerous time when they first go out, but otherwise the ones that survive do just as well and produce just as many young as the wild ones."

The marsupial is WA's endangered native animal emblem.

Numbers have increased from a low of 300 in the 1980s to about 1000 in the wild.

The latest group will take the number released to 175 since 1992. A further 347 have bred in the wild and moved to "sanctuary areas" with less natural predators.

They face danger from foxes, feral cats and and birds of prey.

The latter threat led scientists to set up a training program using real hawks to train them to flee when they hear hunting calls.

Numbats slow to pick up the skill are coerced by keepers firing a water pistol around their feet to encourage them to run when they hear the noise.

Environment Minister Albert Jacob watched Dr Friend fit 11-month old Cardinia with a collar on Thursday.

"In the wild they are under significant stress and that's why breeding programs and sanctuary programs are very important," he said.

"We effectively have a bank of genetic diversity so we can continue to repopulate as we tackle particularly their feral predators, such as foxes and cats, through programs like the Western Shield program."