The critically endangered Mountain Pygmy-possum is calling out for help.
Australia is in danger of losing the only alpine marsupial that hibernates under the snow during winter, the critically endangered Mountain Pygmy-possum. The Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife, in conjunction with Australian Geographic and the Paddy Pallin Foundation, is attempting to fund a new captive breeding program for this species.
The Mountain Pygmy-possum only lives above altitudes of 1,400m in the Alps of southern NSW and north-eastern Victoria. The possums’ habitat is estimated at less than 5 square kilometres, and is shrinking as temperatures increase.
"The impact of current threats, which include predation and habitat disturbance and loss, is predicted to increase with loss of snow cover from global warming," says Dr Linda Broome of the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage. Dr Broome has been studying and monitoring the endangered Mountain Pygmy-possum for nearly 25 years.
"Food supply may also be affected, particularly the abundance and timing of arrival of migratory Bogong moths, an important source of energy and protein for possums arousing from hibernation to breed in Spring." Dr Broome said.
Her Department is working closely with research and conservation institutions including University of New South Wales, University of Sydney, University of New England and the Australian Ecosystems Foundation to build breeding facilities for the Mountain Pygmy-possum and implement a research program.
The breeding program will create a backup population to reintroduce in order to bolster Pygmy-possum numbers in the wild. The program is also a world first as it will attempt to adapt an endangered species to the threat of climate change. It aims to discover the viability of adapting this possum to warmer habitats, such as rainforest, where fossils of their ancestors have been discovered.
Fossil evidence for relatives of the Mountain Pygmy-possum has been found at Lake Palankarinna in South Australia and, at 24 million years old, this species is no newcomer to the Australian continent. Yet the Mountain Pygmy-possum was thought to be extinct until 1966, when a tiny possum was discovered in a ski resort at Mount Hotham, Victoria. Without the captive breeding program, Australia could see this unique species die out less than fifty years after it was rediscovered.
“The captive breeding program for the Mountain Pygmy-possum will be the first of its kind, as it aims to adapt an endangered species to the threats and changing conditions of climate change. This is a last resort strategy to secure the future of this species.” said Ms Leonie Gale, Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife CEO.
The captive breeding facility will be located at Secret Creek Sanctuary in Lithgow, which has a winter climate that is cold enough to allow the possums to undergo hibernation in outdoor conditions. The biggest concern for the possums is to avoid exposure to high temperatures.
Urgent action is required. Mountain Pygmy-possums are in decline. In 1990 there were an estimated 2,635 wild possums and today this has dropped to just 2,075. The Foundation supports this program to make sure decades of work are not in vain.
The Foundation works with like-minded organisations across Australia and is proud to be working alongside Australian Geographic and Paddy Pallin. Together, our three organisations are launching the biggest ever fundraising campaign to ensure the survival of the gorgeous and ever more rare Mountain Pygmy-possum.
You have an opportunity to contribute to this world-first program, and help preserve a small but valuable piece of the stunning biodiversity within Australia. To make a donation, please call 02 9221 1949 or donate online at www.fnpw.org.au.
