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Little Pygmy Possum Discovered On Kangaroo Island

Little Pygmy Possum Discovered On Kangaroo Island

The Little pygmy possum is the world’s smallest known possum, weighing less than 10 grams.

Jessica Lynch

Jessica Lynch

A Little pygmy possum has been found on Kangaroo Island.

The epic find has stunned researchers who thought its habitat had been mostly destroyed in bushfires that wiped out half the island earlier this year.

The cute critter, which is also known as the Cercartetus lepidus, weighs less than 10 grams, and was thought to be decimated in the horrific fires that burned through Kangaroo Island in January.

The bushfires not only destroyed a significant amount of wildlife but also killed two people and destroyed almost 90 homes.

The wildlife conservation group Kangaroo Island Land for Wildlife surveyed 20 sites across the island and managed to discover a number of southern brown bandicoots, native bush rats, Western and Little pygmy possums, brush-tailed possums and tammar wallabies.

The worlds' smallest possum, which can also be found Tasmania and parts of South Australia and Victoria, has a head and body length of just 5-6.5 cm.

Ashlee Benc / Kangaroo Island Land For Wildlife

Fauna ecologist Pat Hodgens said the discovery on the west of the South Australian island was extremely exciting.

He told the ABC: "There's only really been 113 formal records of the species [ever on Kangaroo Island].

"So certainly not very common and, obviously, the summer bushfires burnt through much of that habitat that species had, but we were certainly hopeful that we would find them."

Hodgens said the group was completing extensive forest surveys to figure out what species were now left 'to try to do everything we can to protect them to ensure that they hang around during this pretty critical time'.

"It's very important now because it is kind of like the last refuge for a lot of these species that really rely on very old long, unburned vegetation," he said.

While the discovery of the adorable bush baby was good news, Hodgens added that there were still concerns for other species believed to have perished on the island.

"Even with all fauna survey efforts and camera trapping that we're doing, we're still yet to locate an individual swamp rat," he said. "We don't know a lot about that species because it is pretty rare around the island and also fairly susceptible to the wildfire events."

Featured Image Credit: Ashlee Benc/Kangaroo Island Land For Wildlife

Topics: Animals, Australia