Ever wished your favourite animal could be a baby forever? This little furball isn’t a mouse: it’s a tiny possum, and one of Australia’s rarest creatures, living exclusively in Australia’s alpine region at 1400m and higher. Get to know a bit more about this hardy little mountain marsupial.
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Surprise! Not extinct!
Photo InformationCharlotte Pass
Kosciuszko National Park
Lucy Morrell/DPIE (2005)
The mountain pygmy-possum was once named the ‘Rarest Creature on Earth’ by The Guinness Book of Records. But how? One day in 1966, a little furball wandered into a ski lodge, and someone was smart enough to put down their hot toddy and realise it wasn’t a rodent.
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Cuteness runs in the family
Photo InformationMountain pygmy-possum (left) and eastern pygmy-possum (right)
Mel Schroder/DPIE (left)
LOOK AT THOSE EYES! On the left, you’ve got the mountain pygmy-possum. Cuteness overload. On the right, its smaller, and also endangered but equally squee-inducing cousin, the eastern pygmy-possum.
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Champion eater
Photo InformationLucy Morrell/DPIE
Tasty! This possum gorges on food before hibernating, packing on the weight to a whopping, um, 80g. Take note snowboarders: these mini marsupials often leave a stash of snacks nearby for when they wake up, so watch your step.
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A true Australian hero
Photo InformationThe mountain pygmy-possum is a critically endangered species.
Kosciuszko National Park
Cate Aitken/OEH
Like a lot of Aussies, this species punches above its weight: it’s our only native mammal that lives solely in an alpine habitat. Some good life goals right there.
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Hang in there!
Photo InformationMountain pygmy-possum.
Mel Schroder/DPIE (2009)
The mountain pygmy-possum is two steps away from total extinction, with only a few thousand left in the wild, meaning this cutie is on the critically endangered list.
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Greatest threats
Photo InformationA mountain pygmy-possum eats some plum pine.
Blue Cow, Perisher Valley
Kosciuszko National Park
Lucy Morrell/DPIE (2013)
Habitat degradation, climate change, feral predators and inbreeding are the greatest threats to the last remaining populations around Mount Kosciuszko (NSW), Mount Bogong (Vic) and Mount Buller (Vic).
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What’s next?
Photo InformationMountain pygmy possum aka Burramys parvus is the largest of the pygmy possums found in Australia
Kosciuszko National Park
Lucy Morrell/DPIE (2012)
There’s still hope for the mountain pygmy-possum – we’re working with the Saving our Species program to protect the possums’ habitat, control pest animals and monitor the health of the species over time.
Get involved and help save threatened species by joining a volunteer or citizen science program in a national park near you. It’s great way to spend time in nature and make new friends too!
Step inside a day in the life of a real super hero Dr Linda Broome to learn about her ongoing fight to save the endangered mountain pygmy-possum.
