Australia’s only hibernating mammal, the Mountain Pygmy Possum (Burramys parvus), is a tiny yet tenacious marsupial that has survived in the alpine environments of Australia's Alps for millennia. But ski fields, climate change and feral predators are threatening its existence. Less than 2,000 are left alive!
This is a photo of the first Mountain Pygmy Possum I ever met. Smaller than a golf ball and having emerged temporarily from a fridge at Healesville Sanctuary, it was a surreal reminder of how delicate yet resilient our wildlife can be. Zoos Victoria is one of a number of organisations working tirelessly to ensure these adorable creatures. It keeps a captive population in controlled hibernation environments during winter to protect and study them.
Mountain Pygmy Possums are unique in their reliance on boulder fields above the snow-line for survival. They spend their summers foraging for Bogong moths, seeds, and berries among the rocks, and hibernate in winter beneath the snow, relying on stable alpine temperatures. Most people at Blue Cow and Charlotte Pass have no idea that they are skiiing right over these adorable little marsupials which hybernate there each winter. But with climate change causing snow cover to retreat and temperatures to fluctuate, their hibernation zones and food availability are declining.
One of the key figures in Mountain Pygmy Possum conservation is Dr. Linda Broome from NSW Parks and Wildlife. Linda has dedicated decades to monitoring and protecting these possums, including weighing and monitoring the possums and by tracking Bogong moth populations, which have drastically declined due to habitat destruction and changing climate conditions.
To combat one of the possum's other significant threats - feral cats - I had the privilege of working as Threatened Species Commissioner with Linda to bring in Dottie the feral cat detector dog. Dottie was specially trained and deployed to help locate and deter feral cats from prime possum habitats.
Another innovative effort came from Dr. Andrew Weeks at the University of Melbourne, who has led gene pool widening efforts for the possum. As habitat fragmentation and the climate crisis reduce their population sizes, inbreeding has become a serious risk. To counteract this, Andrew introduced possums from one isolated population into another, increasing genetic diversity and boosting their resilience. This genetic rescue approach is proving to be a valuable tool in conservation science. It could be applied to koalas too.
But despite all these efforts, Mountain pygmy possums are still critically endangered. Protecting them requires a multi-pronged approach: addressing climate change to ensure stable alpine environments; preserving and restoring boulder field habitats which are taken over by ski fields; controlling feral predators like cats and foxes; and monitoring and supporting Bogong moth populations to ensure a sustainable food source.
Mountain pygmy possums are so endangered they're on what I call my Panda List. Along with 12 other Australian mammals, they're rarer than China's Giant Panda! Supporting organisations like Zoos Victoria, advocating for stronger climate action, and raising awareness about our unique and vulnerable species are things you can do to save them.
📸 Here’s a photo of one of the tiny but mighty Mountain pygmy possum I met at Healesville Sanctuary. She was fast asleep and didn't wake up before going back into the fridge.
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