The Future of this Possum is in our Hands

Australia's Tiny Mountain Pygmy Possum

This tiny marsupial was first found as a fossil and thought to be extinct until 1966 when a possum was discovered in a Mount Hotham ski chalet in Victoria. You can donate today to help ensure its survival.

The mountain pygmy possum is the only marsupial in the world to hibernate under the snow during the coldest months of the year. It is also Australia’s only alpine marsupial (animal with a pouch).

In hibernation mode from May to September.

The mountain pygmy possum is the largest of Australia’s pygmy possums, weighing in at a huge 45 g!

These possums live above altitudes of 1400 metres, in the Snowy Mountains of Southern NSW and North-Eastern VIC – typically in snowfields such as Mount Blue Cow. Due to increased global temperatures, the winter snowline in the Southern NSW and North-Eastern VIC alps are being driven higher and higher over time. This reduces the available habitat for the endangered Mountain Pygmy-possum.

At 11 cm long, plus a 14 cm tail, this possum is small enough to fit comfortably in your hands.

Warmer temperatures and decreased snow levels cause the Mountain Pygmy-possums to wake up more often during their hibernation and to use up too much of their stored energy too early. Survival is substantially reduced in years of very long snow cover duration and late melt, and increasingly in years of very short snow duration and early melt. Some possums die during the hibernation process.

The restricted periods of snow cover also mean that fox and feral cat populations increase. Very heavy snow cover would otherwise decimate these predators to the Pygmy-possum.   

Low snow cover also encourages the Mountain Pygmy-possums to emerge from hibernation earlier than they typically would. Sadly, coming out early doesn’t help the possums as the main food source post-hibernation—Bogong Moths—may not have yet arrived. These moths are a crucial protein-rich food of the early Spring period at the beginning of the breeding season.

Some mistake this little guy for a rat, but he's really an endangered species of possum.

Scarcity of food forces the possum to forage further afield, outside the protection of their usual boulder fields where the moths would gather. This leaves the possums vulnerable to foxes and cats.

Beyond this, decreased population sizes and isolated habitats lead to a high rate of inbreeding in the Pygmy-possum population. 

That's why a captive breeding program is the best hope for survival for Australia's endangered Mountain Pygmy-possums. Donate today and make a difference to the future of this species. 

Together we can save this cute little guy.