Are pygmy possums endangered?
Mountain Pygmy-possums were thought to be extinct until they were rediscovered at Mt Hotham in the 1960s. There are fewer than 2,000 critically endangered Mountain Pygmy-possums left in the wild. The possum is Australia’s only hibernating marsupial; it hibernates for up to seven months under the snow.Click to see full answer. In respect to this,…
Mountain Pygmy-possums were thought to be extinct until they were rediscovered at Mt Hotham in the 1960s. There are fewer than 2,000 critically endangered Mountain Pygmy-possums left in the wild. The possum is Australia’s only hibernating marsupial; it hibernates for up to seven months under the snow.Click to see full answer. In respect to this, why are the pygmy possums endangered?The Mountain Pygmy-possum is threatened in NSW by the loss, degradation and fragmentation of habitat. Two of the four main sub-populations are located within ski resort areas. Past management practices by the resorts have led to direct loss of habitat and alteration of vegetation.Subsequently, question is, where do pygmy possums live? The Mountain Pygmy-possum is found only in Australia’s snow-covered alpine and sub-alpine region above 1400 metres in Victoria and New South Wales (NSW). It lives among rock crevices and boulder- fields associated with the Mountain Plum Pine (Podocarpus lawrencei). Accordingly, why does the world need pygmy possum? Because the mountain pygmy-possum needs a snow depth of at least 1 metre to provide adequate insulation during its winter hibernation, it is threatened by any climate change that fragments or thins the snow cover and exposes it to cold temperatures.Can you own a pygmy possum?The short-tailed opossum can become a pet that is friendly and docile. It can easily be handled by people and is curious, active, and entertaining. They should be kept as solitary pets because of their tendency to fight with other opossums. Cage mates will become aggressive and may eventually kill each other.
