The Leadbeater's Possum is featured in a new temporary display in the foyer of Melbourne Museum that highlights the plight of this critically endangered animal.
The story of Leadbeater’s Possum (Gymnobelideus leadbeateri) is a remarkable one. The species was first described in 1867, but by the early 1900s it was thought to be extinct. Miraculously it was rediscovered near Marysville in 1961 and became Victoria’s state faunal emblem in 1971.
This tiny marsupial is threated by habitat loss through human activity, fire and climate change. A film that accompanies the display explains these issues and the efforts to save the Leadbeater's Possum.
The display, which includes a nest box burnt in the Black Saturday bushfires, will be in the museum foyer until 13 April 2011.