FAQ’s
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Where do Leadbeater’s Possums live?
The Leadbeater’s Possum is found only in Victoria, Australia. It lives almost exclusively in the central highlands of the state, within the tall ash (eucalypt) forests above an elevation of 700m. They inhabit hollows in Mountain Ash, Alpine Ash and Shining Gum trees which are usually in excess of 150 years old.
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How many Leadbeater’s Possums are left world wide?
There are no accurate figures for the population of the Leadbeater’s Possum, as they are elusive creatures which have a habit of changing their nesting spots. However, it is estimated that there are less than 1000 adult specimens remaining.
The remaining Leadbeater’s Possums inhabit areas which are bushfire-prone, and the population suffered significantly in the 2009 Victorian bushfires.
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Are any Leadbeater’s Possums in Zoos or part of a captive breeding program?
Leadbeater’s Possum were found in some zoos around the world, but there are currently no captive possums in zoos. They were particularly found in the closest zoo to their natural environment at Healesville Sanctuary in Victoria. At Healesville Sanctuary the last possum died in 2006 and this was the last captive Leadbeater’s Possum in Australia. The last Leadbeater’s Possum to die in captivity worldwide was in Toronto Zoo in Canada early in 2010.
Zoos Victoria has committed to fight extinction of the Leadbeater’s Possum which may include re-development of a captive breeding program in the near future. More information…
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Why is the Leadbeater’s Possum the faunal emblem of Victoria?
The Leadbeater’s Possum is the state faunal emblem of Victoria because it was thought to be extinct but was re-discovered in the Central Highlands of Victoria in 1961.
It is the only mammal species that is endemic to Victoria – which means that it is the only mammal found in the state of Victoria alone and no other state in Australia or anywhere else in the world.
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What are the major threats to the Leadbeater’s Possum?
The Leadbeater’s Possum is most threatened by habitat loss. This includes from wildfire, logging, salvage logging (logging trees, often those regenerating, after a bushfire), prescribed burns, clearing access roads for fire breaks.
The Leadbeaters’s Possum needs trees which connect (or are close to touching) so that they can easily move through the forest – like a possum highway. A road for cars is often impassable by a Leadbeater’s Possum.
The Leadbeater’s Possum needs old trees 150-200 years+ in age to provide the hollows that they need to nest and breed in.
A bushfire initially may damage the habitat for Leadbeater’s Possum, but after about 5 – 10 years (or slightly more) the forest regenerates and tree connectivity returns in abundance. If the area is not salvage logged then a bushfire may open up new nesting hollow opportunities in old trees for Leadbeater’s Possum.
Bushfire may initally degrade the habitat but in the longer term provide good quality habitat for the possum. Although having fires occur too frequently would not allow the Leadbeater’s Possum the chance to build up in numbers during the good times and have a detrimental effect on the survival of this species.
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How can we stop the Leadbeater’s Possum from becoming extinct?
Like many Australian animals, Leadbeater’s Possum is endangered because of habitat loss. The possums nest in the hollows of old trees (150-200+ years), but drought and the increased number of bushfires in recent years in Victoria has reduced the numbers of such available trees. Further, many of the remaining trees that are suitable are in Victoria’s prime timber production area and may be subject to logging.
Therefore, the best chances to prevent extinction of this relatively rare creature involves the re-establishment and protection of native forests with enough old trees to support the possum’s habitat needs.
The Friends of Leadbeater’s Possum undertake volunteer works with rangers in Victoria’s national and state forests to put up nestboxes in the possums’ habitat to provide homes if there is a shortage of hollows in old trees.
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What law/s protects Leadbeater’s Possum?
The Leadbeater’s Possum is protected under state and federal Acts in Australia.
In the state of Victoria it is classified as threatened under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee (FFG) Act 1988. The Action Statement outlining conservation & management issues for Leadbeater’s Possum prepared under the FFG Act was first published in 2005, but remains in draft format in 2010.
In Australia it is classified as endangered under the Environment Protection & Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999.
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How can I help the Leadbeater’s Possum?
We can all help the Leadbeater’s Possum by making choices that will help protect the forest they live in. Also get friends and family to make better choices to help keep our native trees in our native forests for our wildlife.
- Only buy post-consumer 100% recycled toilet paper
- Only buy post-consumer 100% recycled paper for print (A4 etc)
- Don’t print unless you need to
- Recycle all your paper at home/work/school to close the recyling loop
- Work with your school or workplace to get them to buy post-consumer recycled toilet paper or print paper (A4 etc)
- Put up a no junk mail sticker on your letter box
- Say no to buying wood/paper products you don’t need
- Look for FSC forest certified wood products (sustainably harvested)
- If you can vote, vote for a Government that protects native forests from logging
- Tell other people what you know about Leadbeater’s Possum and how they can also help
Click here to join to volunteer or become a member with the Friends of Leadbeater’s Possum.
More members means more voices that can be heard to support change in forest management to protect this unique species, the Leadbeater’s Possum.
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What predators does the Leadbeater’s Possum have?
The most common predator for Leadbeater’s Possum would be the largest South-Eastern Australian Owl the Powerful Owl – Ninox strenua. Other smaller owls could predate on Leadbeater’s Possums particularly juveniles such as Southern Boobook – Ninox novaeseelandiae, Barking Owl – Ninox connivens or Sooty Owl – Tyto tenebricosa.
If the Leadbeater’s Possum came nearer to the ground then possible predators could also be the native Spotted-tail Quoll – Dasyrus maculatus or other introduced species such as foxes or cats.
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What do Leadbeater’s Possums eat?
The Leadbeater’s possum has quite a varied diet. It is known to eat insects, such as moths, crickets and beetles, and spiders which it claws out from underneath tree bark, or finds hanging from bark strips. Some insects exude a sweet liquid called “honeydew”, which the Leadbeater’s possum licks off the leaves of trees. It enjoys the gum, nectar and sap of wattle trees and eucalyptus trees.
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How do Leadbeater’s Possum move?
Leadbeater’s possums don’t glide, but they can leap from tree to tree in search of food. Like all possums, including those in the glider family, they climb trees using their sharp claws, and walk along branches.
3 Responses
As indicated in the FAQ’s the number of LBP’s remaining in the wild is difficult to estimate as they are an elusive species. It is estimated that before the February 2009 – Black Saturday bushfires the population was between 2,000 – 2,500. After the bushfire event in 2009 the population is now estimated to be approximately 1,000 individuals.
how many of the 1000 left in the wild are in the toolangi forest?
Hi Emma,
This question is impossible to answer as even the remaining 1,000 possums that are left is just an estimate. The Leadbeater’s Possum is extremely elusive and difficult to find. Monitoring methods for this possum require intensive work by scientists and even after all this work it can still be difficult to know how many are out there exactly. Saying that the greatest majority of the Leadbeater’s Possum population would be in the Central Highlands. Under 100 possum would be likely around Toolangi but without detailed searches this is just a guesstimate! More than 100 would be a great surprise and would be great to know if this was true.
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