ethan.brook News Editor
Just 13 animals remained at the Yellingbo conservation area when time nearly ran out for the critically endangered Leadbeater’s possums according to The Guardian.
Often called “forest fairies” or forest sprites for their gecko-toed, acrobatic leaps through the dark and cool wet canopy, the species relies on exacting habitat needs including large old nesting trees and dense paperbark and tea tree thickets that have vanished due to state logging and bushfires.
Numbers fell from a recorded population of more than 110 individuals in 2003 to between 20 and 30 over the past decade as reported by 24newsdesk.
Ecologists faced further devastation this year as nearly half of the remaining possums vanished between October and June, suspected to be victims of predators.
Zoos Victoria ecologists made the painful decision to evacuate all remaining wild possums to Healesville Sanctuary as the population collapsed, leaving the animals temporarily extinct in the wild.
“We made the decision to extract all of the wild possums out of Yellingbo. So there was a few weeks where effectively they were extinct in the wild,” Harley said.
The captive stay was always meant as a temporary measure while finishing touches were completed on a new sanctuary at Haining Farm, situated at the confluence of the Yarra and Don rivers where Parks Victoria began growing a bespoke forest on cleared farmland eight years ago.
Nine possums—comprising six lowland, two highland, and one hybrid—were released into the specially developed refuge in late October, with additional animals scheduled to move in during 2027.
The zoo has installed nest boxes, supplementary feeding platforms, and fashioned branches into runways to create miniature treetop villages because Haining Farm remains a young forest lacking ancient tree hollows for dens and featuring unknown food resources.
The possums feed on honeydew and sap from smooth-barked eucalypts and acacias in the wild, leaving behind sticky bubbly saliva as “trunk lickers,” while supplementing their protein intake with beetles, spiders, and crickets.
Harley estimates that at least 220 hectares of suitable habitat will be required to support the lowland subpopulation despite these interventions.
Prof. David Lindenmayer of the Australian National University, who has studied the species for more than 40 years, argued that the crisis at Yellingbo was entirely foreseeable and preventable.
Lindenmayer criticized the state government for failing to create the proposed Great Forest national park in the central highlands stronghold, stating that the Labor government has failed to increase national parks substantively despite campaign promises.
“This is the state's faunal emblem and, if you can't support one of the most important species for the state, then what hope have you got?” Lindenmayer said.