When bushfires ravaged Australia’s Kangaroo Island last year, wildlife experts were left concerned about the future of some of its threatened species, including the endemic little pygmy possum. But a recent survey conducted by local conservation groups spells good news for the fate of the tiny possum species.
Nearly one year on from the fires, a little pygmy possum has been found earlier this week by conservation group Kangaroo Island Land for Wildlife as part of a larger recovery effort in the wake of the summer bushfires.
“There’s only really been 113 formal records of the species [ever on Kangaroo Island],” said fauna ecologist Pat Hodgens. “So certainly not very common and, obviously, the summer bushfires burnt through much of that habitat that species had, but we were certainly hopeful that we would find them.”
Incredibly tiny in size and weighing a mere seven grams, the little pygmy possum has been a difficult species to find and study. Described as the world’s smallest possum, the species can primarily be found in Tasmania, along with Kangaroo Island and sometimes on mainland South Australia and Victoria.
Mr. Hodgens said the team’s surveying efforts will continue until they have found all the remaining species “to try to do everything we can to protect them to ensure that they hang around during this pretty critical time. It’s very important now because it is kind of like the last refuge for a lot of these species that really rely on very old long, unburned vegetation,” he added.
