NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water

The excitement of finding three new colonies of the endangered Mountain Pygmy Possum late last year in Kosciuszko National Park has been surpassed by the discovery in January of a much larger population near Cabramurra, some 30 kilometres north of colonies that have been studied for over 25 years.

Scientists from the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (DECCW) announced the discovery of another 11 adults and 48 juveniles well outside the known range of this highly endangered species.

DECCW ecologist, Dr Linda Broome, said this follows closely the discovery late last year that there were Mountain Pygmy Possums existing at much lower altitudes than previously thought possible.

"When we found three new colonies with a total of ten adult females and nine males much further north and up to 450 metres lower we were very excited because it immediately broadened the potential range of this species and the possibility there were more possums out there to be found.

"So the search intensified and we've now located a much larger group near the Cabramurra site and more animals at Happy Jacks and nearby Boltons Hill".

"I've been surveying and trapping these animals every year for 25 years and to suddenly find such a large and apparently robust population well outside the area we have focused on for all that time, and especially at altitudes down to 1200 metres, is very exciting.

"It really means that its possible the Mountain pygmy-possum is living in other parts of the park and even in areas where there is less snow and for much shorter periods than that experienced by possums living between 1650 and 2200 metres where they have previously only been found until now.

"We have always held fears that this species was at real risk of disappearing completely with a receding snowline caused by the earth's warming but finding them at much lower altitudes give us cause to believe that the Mountain Pygmy Possum may be more resilient to climate change than we had first thought.

"We have also begun speculating that our idea for future captive breeding of this animal for possible release at much lower altitudes may have a greater chance of success than we had been willing to consider previously.

"The total population of this species in NSW and Victoria has declined significantly from just over 2,600 adults when we began surveying in 1986 to around 2,000 today.

"To find another 29 adults and 47 juveniles at three locations in the northern region of the park after 25 years of survey work in the southern, alpine region is a significant discovery.

"I think it's not at all unreasonable to expect that we will find more as we expand the search criteria to include boulder field habitat at much lower altitudes than we have before.

"One of the important lessons for everyone from this discovery is that if you keep looking, there's always the chance that species you thought had disappeared is still there, whether it's a Mountain Pygmy-possum or any other rare or endangered animal or plant," Dr Broome said.