Leadbeater's possum

What does it look like?

• The length of Leadbeater's Possum body is about 16 -18cm and with its club-shaped tail being of similar length the animal is 35-40cm from its nose to its tailtip.

Where does it live in the wild?

• The Leadbeaters Possum location is confined to the mountain ash forests.
• This pocket of forest which measures only 60 km x 80 km, is a very wet place, with an annual rainfall of over 2000 mm and occasional falls of snow.

What does it eat?

• moths,crickets and beetles, and spiders
• They also consume sap and gum from trees as well as a insect secretion called "Honeydew".

How does it protect itself?

• LEADBEATER'S POSSUM is a shy small, highly agile (making breathtaking leaps from tree to tree), nocturnal (Night time) marsupial (a pouched mammal), restricted to the tall eucalypt forests.
• They are usually covered in fur and sharp claws and strong fingers help them in climb.

How does it reproduce and look after its young?

• The Leadbeater's Possum has 2 breeding times April to June and October to December producing 1-2 young in a litter. Like all marsupials, its young are born blind and naked and they crawl into their mothers pouch and attach themselves to a nipple.
• The young Leadbeaters Possum remains in their mother's marsupial pouch for roughly 3 months Female young are forcibly dispersed (ejected) from the nest after 10 months (upon reaching sexual maturity) and the male young disperse after 15 months.
• Leadbeaters Possum lifespan is up to 10 years though not many individuals over the age of 5 have been recorded.

Why is this animal species endangered?

• Like many Australian animals, Leadbeater's Possum is critically endangered because of habitat loss.
• The possums nest in the hollows of old trees (150-200+ years), but very old rotting trees eventually collapse.

What is being done to help it survive?

• In the late 1990’s Leadbeater’s Possum were held in a number of zoos around the world, including Metro Zoo, Toronto (Canada), Brookfield Zoo, Chicago (USA), London Zoo (UK), Taronga Zoo (NSW), Prague Zoo (Czech Republic), Melbourne Zoo and, of course, Healesville Sanctuary, Victoria.
• The breeding program was so productive 77% that the Sanctuary put a call out to zoos around the world to help out by housing and breeding some of the captive animals.