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Leadbeater's possum (''Gymnobelideus leadbeateri'') is a critically endangered possum largely restricted to small pockets of
alpine ash Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National ...
,
mountain ash Mountain ash may refer to: * '' Eucalyptus regnans'', the tallest of all flowering plants, native to Australia * Mountain-ashes or rowans, varieties of trees and shrubs in the genus ''Sorbus'' See also * Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf Mounta ...
, and snow gum forests in the Central Highlands of
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seyche ...
, Australia, north-east of Melbourne. It is primitive,
relict A relict is a surviving remnant of a natural phenomenon. Biology A relict (or relic) is an organism that at an earlier time was abundant in a large area but now occurs at only one or a few small areas. Geology and geomorphology In geology, a r ...
, and non-gliding, and, as the only species in the petaurid genus ''Gymnobelideus'', represents an ancestral form. Formerly, Leadbeater's possums were moderately common within the very small areas they inhabited; their requirement for year-round food supplies and tree-holes to take refuge in during the day restricts them to mixed-age wet
sclerophyll Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaves, short internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is parallel or oblique to direct ...
forest with a dense mid-story of ''
Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...
''. The species was named in 1867 after John Leadbeater, the then taxidermist at the
Museum Victoria Museums Victoria is an organisation which operates three major state-owned museums in Melbourne, Victoria: the Melbourne Museum, the Immigration Museum and Scienceworks Museum. It also manages the Royal Exhibition Building and a storage faci ...
. They also go by the common name of fairy possum. On 2 March 1971, the State of Victoria made the Leadbeater's possum its faunal emblem.


History

Leadbeater's possum is thought to have evolved about 20 million years ago. It was not discovered until 1867 and was originally known only through five specimens, the last one collected in 1909. From that time on, the fear that it might be extinct gradually grew into near-certainty after the swamps and wetlands in Australia around Bass River in south-west
Gippsland Gippsland is a rural region that makes up the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains to the rainward (southern) side of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It cover ...
were drained for farming in the early 1900s. By the time of the 1939 Black Friday fires, the species was thought to have been extinct. Then, on 3 April 1961, a member of the species was rediscovered by naturalist Eric Wilkinson in the forests near Cambarville, and the first specimen in more than 50 years was captured later in the month. In 1961, a colony was discovered near Marysville. Extensive searches since then have found the existing population in the highlands. However, the availability of suitable habitat is critical: forest must be neither too old nor too young, with conservation efforts for Leadbeater's possum involving protection of remaining old-growth stands, and maintenance of younger stands that are allowed to attain hollow-bearing age. The combination of 40-year-old regrowth (for food) and large dead trees left still standing after the fires (for shelter and nesting) allowed the Leadbeater's possum population to expand to an estimated peak of about 7500 in the early 1980s. From its peak in the 1980s, the Leadbeater's possum population was expected to further decline rapidly, by as much as 90%, due to a habitat bottleneck. The population has dropped sharply since 1996. Particularly, the February 2009
Black Saturday bushfires The Black Saturday bushfires were a series of Bushfires in Australia, bushfires that either ignited or were already burning across the Australian state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria on and around Saturday, 7 February 2009, and were among Au ...
destroyed 43% of Leadbeater's possums' habitat in the Central Highlands, halving the wild population to 1,500. A study in 2014 concluded there is a 92% chance the Leadbeater's ecosystem in the Victoria central highlands will collapse within 50 years.


Habits

Leadbeater's possums are rarely seen as they are nocturnal, fast-moving, and occupy the upper storey of some of the tallest forest trees in the world. They have an average body length of 33 cm (13 inches) with the tail included. They live in small family colonies of up to 12 individuals, including one
monogamous Monogamy ( ) is a form of dyadic relationship in which an individual has only one partner during their lifetime. Alternately, only one partner at any one time (serial monogamy) — as compared to the various forms of non-monogamy (e.g., pol ...
breeding pair. Mating occurs only once a year, with a maximum of two joeys being born to each pair. All members sleep together in a nest made out of shredded bark in a tree hollow, anywhere from 6 to 30 metres above ground level and roughly in the centre of a territory of 3 hectares, which they defend actively. The society of Leadbeater's possums is
matriarchal Matriarchy is a social system in which women hold the primary power positions in roles of authority. In a broader sense it can also extend to moral authority, social privilege and control of property. While those definitions apply in general ...
: each group is dominated by only one female Leadbeater's possum that is active in expelling outsiders. Other juvenile females are weaned off before they reach sexual maturity. In addition, female Leadbeater's possums are more aggressive in nature, often engaging in frequent fights with other females, including their own daughters. Due to the constant attacks, young females are forced to leave much earlier than their male brothers, which results in the extremely high male to female ratio of 3:1. Solitary Leadbeater's possums have difficulty surviving: when young males disperse at about 15 months of age, they tend either to join another colony as a supernumerary member, or to gather together into bachelor groups while they wait to find a mate. At dusk, Leadbeater's possums emerge from the nest and spread out to forage in the sub-canopy, often making substantial leaps from tree to tree (they require continuous
understory In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey ( Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but ...
to travel). Their diet is omnivorous: feeding on a range of wattle saps and exudates, lerps, and a high proportion of
arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and cuticle made of chitin, ...
s which they find under the loose bark of eucalypts, including spiders, crickets, termites and beetles. Plant exudates make up 80% of their energy intake, but the protein provided by the arthropods is essential for successful breeding. Births are usually timed for the beginning of winter (May and June) or late spring (October and November). Most litters are of one or two young, which stay in the pouch for 80 to 90 days, and first emerge from the nest following this. Young, newly independent Leadbeater's possums are very vulnerable to
owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...
s. Leadbeater's possums are found in three habitat types: lowland swamp gum, of Yellingbo Nature Conservation Reserve; montane ash forest, wet
sclerophyll Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaves, short internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is parallel or oblique to direct ...
forest dominated by
mountain ash Mountain ash may refer to: * '' Eucalyptus regnans'', the tallest of all flowering plants, native to Australia * Mountain-ashes or rowans, varieties of trees and shrubs in the genus ''Sorbus'' See also * Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf Mounta ...
,
shining gum ''Eucalyptus nitens'', commonly known as shining gum or silvertop, is a species of tall tree native to Victoria and eastern New South Wales. It has smooth greyish bark, sometimes with thin, rough bark near the base, lance-shaped adult leaves, flo ...
and
alpine ash Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National ...
with a dense mid-story of acacia species; sub-alpine woodlands of
Mount Baw Baw Mount Baw Baw is a mountain summit on the Baw-Baw Plateau of the Great Dividing Range, located in Victoria, Australia. The name is from the Woiwurrung language spoken by Eastern Kulin people. It is of uncertain meaning, but possibly signifies ...
, Lake Mountain and Mount Bullfight.


Threats

Leadbeater's possums and their forest habitat have been the subject of the largest
longitudinal study A longitudinal study (or longitudinal survey, or panel study) is a research design that involves repeated observations of the same variables (e.g., people) over short or long periods of time (i.e., uses longitudinal data). It is often a type of ob ...
of any species in the world—conducted by David Lindenmayer, a professor at the
Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...
, and his research assistants since 1983. Hundreds of peer reviewed scientific papers, journal articles and books have resulted from the years of data collection by the ANU team. Their findings show that the availability of suitable habitat is critical: forest must be neither too old nor too young, with conservation efforts for Leadbeater's possums involving protection of remaining old-growth stands, and maintenance of younger stands that are allowed to attain hollow-bearing age. Clearfell logging and
salvage logging Salvage logging is the practice of logging trees in forest areas that have been damaged by wildfire, flood, severe wind, disease, insect infestation, or other natural disturbance in order to recover economic value that would otherwise be lost. Al ...
(after bushfires) have been proven by the researchers to have been the greatest threat to the possums' conservation in the wild over the last three decades of the 20th century.


Habitat loss

The entire Central Highlands population distribution is confined to a 70 by 80 kilometre area. With 43% of its known Central Highlands habitat destroyed in the
bushfires A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...
of February 2009 – large areas of forest around Toolangi, Marysville, Narbethong, Cambarville and
Healesville Healesville is a town in Victoria, Australia, 52 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district, located within the Shire of Yarra Ranges local government area. Healesville recorded a population of 7,589 in the 2021 census. ...
– the species' status is currently in doubt. Consequently, in December 2012, David Lindenmayer and Zoos Victoria's threatened species biologist, Dan Harley, submitted an application to the federal government for a revision of the species status, providing evidence that it should be relisted as critically endangered. The then minister for the environment, Tony Burke, agreed with the nomination and forwarded the application to the scientific committee of the EPBC Act requesting urgent consideration. On 22 April 2015, it was decided to relist the species as critically endangered. The only remaining population outside the Central Highlands is located at Yellingbo Nature Conservation Reserve. Harley has estimated this population to be fewer than 50.


Logging

As the species is
endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...
and occupies a restricted range,
logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...
continues to pose a critical threat to the Leadbeater's possum. The logging in 1993 of "much of the possum's habitat, known as zone one" a five hectare reserve east of Powelltown, followed a "mapping error". Author Peter Preuss stated that the possum's population faltered in 1997 with current habitat (limited to a 50-square-kilometre area) under threat from logging. He emphasised the need to relaunch a breeding program. Despite a joint federal and state government plan to save it, since the 1980s, the Leadbeater's possum population halved to around 2000 even before the Black Saturday fires. Many more were killed early in 2007 when the government-backed enterprise company, VicForests, bulldozed large firebreaks through Leadbeater's monitoring stations following the Christmas fires – firebreaks and clear-felling also prevent breeding with nearby colonies. David Lindenmayer (Australian National University) has argued that the need for nest boxes indicates that logging practices are not ecologically sustainable for conserving hollow-dependent species like the Leadbeater's possum. Studies have shown that clear-felling operations, such as the logging run in state forest between the
Yarra Ranges National Park Yarra Ranges National Park is located in the Central Highlands of Australia's southeastern state Victoria, 107 km northeast of Melbourne. Established in 1995 and managed by the statutory authority Parks Victoria, the park features a carbon-ri ...
and Mount Bullfight Conservation Reserve in February 2006, led to the deaths of most possums in the area—"Adult animals have a strong affinity with their home range and are reluctant to move".
Salvage logging Salvage logging is the practice of logging trees in forest areas that have been damaged by wildfire, flood, severe wind, disease, insect infestation, or other natural disturbance in order to recover economic value that would otherwise be lost. Al ...
since the fires has posed a further risk to this extremely diminished population with
clear-felling Clearcutting, clearfelling or clearcut logging is a forestry/logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down. Along with shelterwood and seed tree harvests, it is used by foresters to create certain types of fores ...
also approved by VicForests in the few remaining unburnt areas, such as the Kalatha Creek area of Toolangi State Forest in 2010, a move opposed by the Yarra Ranges Shire Council. In 2012 MyEnvironment challenged VicForests' operations in three planned coupes in the Toolangi forest in the supreme court. The basis of their claim being that "VicForests did not undertake adequate pre-logging surveys prior to logging in an area that we claim meets Leadbeater’s habitat and therefore should not have been logged." The proposed logging is to supply (taxpayer subsidised) pulp to manufacture 'Reflex' copy paper—a product of Australian Paper owned by the Japanese company,
Nippon Paper Group is a Japanese paper manufacturing company. The company's stock is listed on the Tokyo and Nagoya Stock Exchange and on the Osaka Securities Exchange. The stock is also constituent of the Nikkei 225 stock index. As of April 2013 the company ...
. During the case, film was recorded of a Leadbeater's possum in the contested coupe area. The case was lost by MyEnvironment due to inconsistencies in the wording of the Leadbeater's Possum Action Statement (10 years out of date) and the forestry prescriptions adhered to by VicForests. The group immediately appealed the decision by the presiding judge Justice Osborne, and the supreme court accepted there was a sound basis for an appeal to the original determination. A supreme court appeal was heard on 24 June 2013 before three judges and MyEnvironment was represented in court by Julian Burnside QC. The appeal was lost.


Feral cats

Previously
feral cats A feral cat or a stray cat is an unowned domestic cat (''Felis catus'') that lives outdoors and avoids human contact: it does not allow itself to be handled or touched, and usually remains hidden from humans. Feral cats may breed over dozens ...
had only been considered a peripheral threat to Leadbeater's possums, but recent research has found video evidence of cats preying on possums leaving nesting boxes, and of possum remains in stomach contents of trapped feral cats. It is now considered that cats may be a more significant threat to possum populations, particularly in areas already disturbed by logging or bushfires.


Legislation

On 27 June 2013 the Napthine led State government passed legislative changes to allow VicForests access to Victoria's forests for the next 25 years and to be self monitoring (this follows the success of other recent cases preventing logging of remaining possum habitat). According to The Wilderness Society, "the Victorian government ... svirtually signing the death warrant of the remaining 500 or so Leadbeater's possums." These changes to the ''Sustainable Forests (Timber) Act 2004'' will have implications not only for the Leadbeater's possum but to the biodiversity, carbon storage and water catchments of the forests.


Conservation

On 22 April 2015,
Greg Hunt Gregory Andrew Hunt (born 18 November 1965) is a former Australian politician who was the Minister for Health between January 2017 and May 2022. He was a Liberal Party member of the House of Representatives between November 2001 and 2022, repr ...
, the Minister for the Environment, announced that the Leadbeater's possum would be listed as a "critically endangered" species under the EPBC Act. The forestry industry and
Barnaby Joyce Barnaby Thomas Gerard Joyce (born 17 April 1967) is an Australian politician who served as the 17th deputy prime minister of Australia under Malcolm Turnbull from 2016 to 2018 and under Scott Morrison from 2021 to 2022. He was the leader of t ...
advocate for the Leadbeater's possum to be taken off the critically endangered list. Following uproar from the logging industry & the National Party it was soon placed under re-assessment. On the eve of an ABC 4 Corner episode on "Extinction" (24 June 2019) the then Environment Minister, Sussan Ley announced that it would be re-listed as "critically endangered". Of its ash forest habitat, about 30% is protected, while the rest is allocated to logging. In addition there is a small isolated, genetically distinct, population protected within the Yellingbo Nature Conservation Reserve. This lowland habitat consist primarily of Sedge-rich ''Eucalyptus camphora'' Swamp. In 2013 it was proposed to create the " Great Forest National Park" to protect the mountain ash forest habitat. The park would protect the area between Kinglake, Baw Baw and Eildon
national parks A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...
, which is also important for Melbourne's drinking water and as a
carbon sink A carbon sink is anything, natural or otherwise, that accumulates and stores some carbon-containing chemical compound for an indefinite period and thereby removes carbon dioxide () from the atmosphere. Globally, the two most important carbon si ...
. Since 2004, the Friends of Leadbeater's Possum community group has been active in raising the animal's profile and lobbying for its conservation. Through a joint community/government program, "Project Possum" has installed approximately 200 plastic nest boxes in the wild. Many of these nest boxes were paid for by a community fundraising campaign. The nest boxes are primarily used to assist with ongoing population monitoring and supplement the declining forest habitat. Project Possum has targeted two forest types: montane ash forest (i.e. Mt Ritchie, Dowey Spur, Ben Cairn) and sub-alpine woodland (i.e. Mount Baw Baw, Lake Mountain, and Mount Bullfight). The nest boxes are routinely checked for habitation every one or two years. Nest boxes located in the sub-alpine woodland tend to have a high uptake, while those located in montane ash forest have very limited uptake. An additional 50 nest boxes are due for installation in 2015–16.


Captive breeding

Des Hackett is credited as the first person to successfully breed the Leadbeater's possum in captivity. In May 2006, the last Australian specimen at the time, held at
Healesville Sanctuary Healesville Sanctuary, formally known as the Sir Colin MacKenzie Sanctuary, is a zoo specialising in native Australian animals. It is located at Healesville in rural Victoria, Australia, and has a history of breeding native animals. It is one o ...
, died. In January 2010, Kasia, at the time the last captive Leadbeater's possum worldwide, died at
Toronto Zoo The Toronto Zoo is a zoo located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Encompassing , the Toronto Zoo is the largest zoo in Canada. It is divided into seven zoogeographic regions: Indo-Malaya, Africa, Americas, Tundra Trek, Australasia, Eurasia, and the ...
. of the few Lake Mountain Leadbeater's possums remaining after the 2009 bushfire led to three remaining individuals being taken into captivity for their own protection. One animal has since died. There are no plans to release the remaining two animals despite a further two colonies of Leadbeater's possums having recently been located at Lake Mountain in remnant gully vegetation. These two Lake Mountain animals are now on public display in the Nocturnal House as ambassadors for the species. Healesville Sanctuary's captive breeding program for Leadbeater's possums recommenced in May 2012 and now comprises 6 individuals from the genetically distinct Yellingbo population. they are housed as pairs in large enclosures off display, but are yet to breed.


''The Photo Ark''

On 14 September 2017,
National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
reported that the Leadbeater's possum was the 7,000th animal photographed for '' The Photo Ark'' by
Joel Sartore Joel Sartore is an American photographer focusing on conservation photography, speaker, author, teacher, and a long-time contributor to ''National Geographic'' magazine. He is the head of The National Geographic ''Photo Ark'' project, a 25-year ...
. The project's goal is to photographing all species living in zoos and wildlife sanctuaries around the globe in order to inspire action to save wildlife.


See also

* Close relatives of Leadbeater's possum are the
sugar glider The sugar glider (''Petaurus breviceps'') is a small, omnivorous, arboreal, and nocturnal gliding possum belonging to the marsupial infraclass. The common name refers to its predilection for sugary foods such as sap and nectar and its abil ...
,
squirrel glider The squirrel glider (''Petaurus norfolcensis'') is a nocturnal gliding possum. The squirrel glider is one of the wrist-winged gliders of the genus '' Petaurus''. Habitat This species' home range extends from Bordertown near the South Austral ...
,
yellow-bellied glider The yellow-bellied glider (''Petaurus australis''), also known as the fluffy glider, is an arboreal and nocturnal gliding possum that lives in native eucalypt forests in eastern Australia, from northern Queensland south to Victoria. Habitat T ...
, mahogany glider and
striped possum The striped possum or common striped possum (''Dactylopsila trivirgata'') is a member of the marsupial family Petauridae. it is found mainly in New Guinea. The species is black with three white stripes running head to tail, and its head has whi ...
. * Goblin flea, an insect which only lives on Leadbeater's possum.


References


External links

* ARKive �
images and movies of the Leadbeater's possum (''Gymnobelideus leadbeateri'')

Friends of Leadbeater's Possum

MyEnvironment

Leadbeater's Possum EDGE page

Conservation of Leadbeater's Possum

Lost and Found: the Rediscovery of Leadbeater's Possum
video from Museum Victoria. {{Authority control EDGE species Endangered fauna of Australia Mammals of Victoria (Australia) Possums Mammals described in 1867