ZOOS VICTORIA'S 2O PRIORITY SPECIES LEADBEATER'S POSSUM
ZOOS VICTORIA'S 2O PRIORITY SPECIES LEADBEATER'S POSSUM
ZOOS VICTORIA'S 2O PRIORITY SPECIES LEADBEATER'S POSSUM
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Zoos Victoria is committed to Fighting Extinction<br />
We are working to ensure that no Victorian terrestrial vertebrate<br />
species goes extinct on our watch.<br />
Once thought to be extinct,<br />
Leadbeater’s Possum was<br />
rediscovered in 1961 and became<br />
Victoria’s faunal emblem. This<br />
species, endemic to Victoria, is<br />
increasingly under threat. Zoos<br />
Victoria’s Healesville Sanctuary is<br />
currently the only institution in the<br />
world caring for the Leadbeater’s<br />
Possum. Zoos Victoria is working<br />
to change the fate of threatened<br />
species and is committed to<br />
Fighting Extinction – we will ensure<br />
that no more Victorian terrestrial<br />
vertebrate species become extinct.<br />
Zoos Victoria’s efforts to save<br />
Leadbeater’s Possum is symbolic of<br />
our commitment to protecting our<br />
local fauna.<br />
KEY PROGRAM OBJECTIVES<br />
+ Collect founders<br />
+ Monitor wild populations<br />
+ Develop strategic partnerships to<br />
enhance habitat conditions<br />
+ Develop reintroduction techniques<br />
+ Establish a successful insurance<br />
population to support wild reintroductions<br />
in 2015<br />
+ Raise community awareness of the<br />
Leadbeater’s Possum and support for<br />
its conservation.<br />
PROGRAM OUTCOMES<br />
+ New enclosures have been built at<br />
Healesville Sanctuary to house the<br />
Leadbeater’s Possum<br />
+ A pair of Leadbeater’s Possums have<br />
been secured and are settling in well at<br />
Healesville Sanctuary.<br />
<strong>SPECIES</strong> AT RISK<br />
The Leadbeater’s Possum is one of Victoria’s<br />
faunal emblems. Crucial to the survival of<br />
this species is the availability of old growth<br />
trees with hollows that provide dens for<br />
possums during the day. Leadbeater’s<br />
Possums usually live in small family groups<br />
comprising a single breeding pair and their<br />
young. Pairs breed twice a year with just 1-2<br />
young per litter. There are three main threats<br />
to the survival of the Leadbeater’s Possum:<br />
+ Loss of hollow-bearing trees:<br />
Leadbeater’s Possum can be picky with<br />
their dens, some only find hollows fit for<br />
their dens once they are over 200 years<br />
old! The number of old trees with suitable<br />
hollows has decreased dramatically<br />
due to wildlife and logging, resulting in<br />
inadequate places for animals to seek<br />
refuge during the day<br />
+ Wildfire: Fires can burn through large<br />
areas of the montane ash forests which<br />
are home to the Leadbeater’s Possum.<br />
The 2009 Black Saturday bushfire burnt<br />
45% of high-quality habitat mapped for<br />
the possum<br />
+ Loss of suitable habitat: Changes in fire<br />
patterns and habitat conditions mean that<br />
there is less suitable habitat available for<br />
Leadbeater’s Possums. This has placed the<br />
possum at an increased risk of extinction.<br />
Zoos Victoria is committed to securing<br />
viable, self-sustaining populations of<br />
Leadbeater’s Possum in the wild.<br />
PROGRAM PARTNERS<br />
Parks Victoria<br />
www.parkweb.vic.gov.au<br />
Department of Sustainability<br />
and Environment<br />
www.dse.vic.gov.au<br />
Friends of the Leadbeater’s Possum<br />
www.leadbeaters.org.au<br />
IMAGES<br />
Front: Leadbeaters Possum is Victoria’s<br />
faunal emblem. Photo: © Jean-Paul<br />
Ferrero, Auscape.<br />
Below top: Zoos Victoria is working to save<br />
this little forest fairy. Photo: Dan Harley.<br />
Below bottom: Photograph taken during<br />
surveys for Leadbeater’s Possum in 2011<br />
using remote cameras. Photo: Dan Harley.<br />
FIND OUT MORE<br />
www.zoo.org.au/conservation<br />
Zoos Victoria is a not-for-profit, zoo based conservation organisation.<br />
We are Fighting Extinction through our local and global conservation programs,<br />
research projects and community conservation campaigns. For more information<br />
on this or any other Zoos Victoria project, visit www.zoo.org.au/conservation<br />
Printed on 100% recycled paper