A landmark discovery has led to further faith for the future of the Leadbeater’s Possum.
Believed to only remain in Victorian forests, footage from wildlife cameras near the Yarrangobilly Caves in the Kosciuszko National Park in New South Wales has captured the critically endangered critter and led to hopes of another population existing.
President of the Friends of Leadbeater’s Possum Steve Meacher said they are very excited by this news.
“The fact that the species has been discovered at two sites in New South Wales, 250 kilometres from the nearest Victorian population, means that it is less likely to become extinct due to a single catastrophic event, such as a large bushfire,” he said.
“It is also encouraging that the discovery has been made in a large National Park, this underlines the importance of extensive protected areas, if the area had been available for logging in the recent past, this population could have been lost without ever being discovered,”
“However it doesn’t make any difference to the species’ critically endangered conservation status, declared in 2015, as the total number of animals remains low and their cold, wet forest habitat is vulnerable to changing climate.”
Mr Meacher did propose some important questions that he believes need to be asked following the discovery, including:
Is this an isolated colony or part of a wider population?
How many individuals are there?
How are they related to the Victorian animals and how long have they been separated i.e. Are they genetically distinct like the Victorian lowland population or have they diverged sufficiently to establish a subspecies?
Are their behavioural and conservation needs the same as, or different from, those of Victorian populations?
Mr Meacher said much work remains to be done.
“We are pleased that the Commonwealth Recovery Plan for the Leadbeater’s Possum was released last year and this should provide a basis for action to protect and recover the New South Wales population while further research is undertaken,” he said.
“But we note that after more than twelve months the species’ Recovery Team has still not been reconvened and this new discovery underlines the importance of urgently resuming meetings to consider and respond to the implications.”
Researchers from the New South Wales government’s ecosystems and threatened species team Fred Ford and Martin Shultz made the discovery during an attempt to carry out camera trap surveys for the endangered smoky mouse.
“Friends of Leadbeater’s Possum Inc. congratulates Dr Fred Ford and the NSW team on their historic discovery and will do what we can to support and assist actions to protect populations in New South Wales,” Mr Meacher said.
“At the same time we continue to pursue increased protection for the Victorian population through the campaign to expand and connect protected areas in the Central Highlands, through the proposed Great Forest National Park.”
Biodiversity Council of Australia member and Australian National University ecologist Professor David Lindenmayer has spent many years monitoring the Leadbeater’s Possum, including in the Victorian Central Highlands, as well as around the Yarrangobilly site 35 years ago while undertaking a PhD.
“Bioclimatic modelling indicated that the area should suit the Leadbeater’s Possum, so I looked for them there and in many other parts of Kosciuszko National Park, but this was before camera traps were widely available, and I was unsuccessful in detecting them,” Prof Lindemayer said in a media release.
“This discovery shows that just because a species has not been positively detected at a location, you cannot be confident that it is not there. Many of our most imperilled species are hard to detect,”
“With so little high-quality habitat left in Australia, we should do our utmost to protect remaining areas; hopefully, there will be many more wonderful discoveries ahead, especially as detection techniques improve.”
