Burramys parvus
Critically Endangered
Mountain Pygmy-possum Recovery in the Victorian Alps
Facts: • The Mountain Pygmy Possum is under threat – there are only about 2,000 adult possums remaining in the wild, this number has been declining in recent years.
More than half of the Mountain Pygmy-possum’s diet is insects, especially Bogong Moths in spring and summer. While thousands of people are enjoying the alpine snowfields, the Mountain Pygmy-possum is hibernating, asleep under the snow in rock crevices.
THE SPECIES
Mountain Pygmy-possums are only found above 1,200m and inhabit deep extensive boulder fields. Females have a gestation period of just 13 days and a litter of up to four joeys can be weaned at a mere 9-10 weeks of age. These small terrestrial marsupials can hibernate for up to seven months per year under the snow, a necessary lifestyle trait they maintain to survive. Historically, wild females can live for up to 12 years and males to 5 years, however the majority now only live for 1 -3 years, largely due to threatening processes in their alpine homes.
All three geographically isolated populations are threatened by