Peaks and Possums

With the Alpine National Park (on Gunaikurnai Country) now under joint management, we have new opportunities to walk Country and care for native critters.

Recently the JM Rangers were lucky enough to do just that as part of a project to support these endangered (and adorable) creatures.

The team includes CESAR and the amazing ecologist and wildlife biologist Dean Heinze. A total legend!

Thanks to this project we’ve been able to get out to remote areas – walking, looking, listening and reading Country. Once we know what the situation is like on the ground, we can better support the Mountain Pygmy Possum and it’s environment.

Together we work to catch and tag the Pygmy possums, as well as collect DNA to monitor their health and genetic diversity. This helps us know how many pygmy possums are actually out there, and what other small creatures share their habitat. The team also checked out their food sources, like the Bogong Moth, and their competitors, like the native bush rat, to get a better understanding of the challenges the Pygmy possums face and how to manage them.  

It’s all part of our Saving Native Species project, funded through the Priority Species Program at the Federal Department of Industry, Science and Resources.