Pygmy Possum
By Broughton and Alec
Description
The mountain pygmy possum has grey and brown fur. It has a length of 10 centimetres. It has a pink nose and there are dark shadows around its eyes.
Distribution
The mountain pygmy possum lives only in alpine areas and sub-alpine areas on the highest mountains of Victoria and New South Wales. They live in the Kosciuszco National Park.
Habitat and ecology
It lives on the ground in rocky areas. Seventy persent of its diet is invertebrates such as bogong moths, caterpillars, beetles, spiders and millipedes. It depends on insulation under the snow for its survival.
Threats
The Pygmy Possum is losing its habitat mainly to the ski resorts. It also gets eaten by the red fox and other feral cats. People think that they are mice and rats and kill them.
Recovery Strategies
We need to control the number of foxes and feral cats in the Pygmy Possum's habitat. Do not use rat traps of poisons in the area!
Pygmy Possums | Two On The Great Divide | Sundays, 7.30pm, ABC1
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons.
Information is from http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/threatenedspecies/