Mountain Pygmy Possum

Mountain Pygmy Possum, Burramys parvus

Where do they live?
Mountain Pygmy Possums live within about five square kilometres in isolated populations in The Snowy Mountains of NSW and northeastern Victoria.

What is their habitat?
Mountain Pygmy Possums are endemic to Australian Alpine areas above 1400m. They live there in boulder fields and on mountainsides.

What’s special about them?
The Mountain Pygmy Possum is one of a kind. Nowhere else in the world can you find a marsupial that hibernates for the winter. This period can last for up to seven months. They store food to keep themselves fed during short times of wakefulness. During hibernation, the possums can reduce their body temperature to two degrees centigrade. These possums are also the only Australian mammal adapted to live exclusively in the alpine zone.

What do they eat?
When they emerge from hibernation in summer, there’s nothing these possums like more than a meal of fresh migrating Bogong Moths and other invertebrates. They’re omnivorous and especially like the fruit from the Mountain Plum pine, as well as seeds.

How do they reproduce?
The annual breeding season occurs in the Spring, around October and November, a time that matches the abundance of migrating Bogong moths in the area. The males travel up to the higher nests of the females to mate. After 14–15 days the young, usually three or four of them, are born. The males don’t participate in rearing the young, having been driven from the female nests soon after the breeding season draws to an end. The young remain in the pouch for three weeks, then stay another three to four weeks in the nest before being weaned. After this, the juvenile males are ejected

What else do I need to know?
Mountain Pygmy Possums are nocturnal, resting during the day and foraging for food at night. They look like mice, covered in a fine layer of thick fur, grey brown on the back and cream coloured underneath. The tail is longer than the body and usually coiled. The nose and feet are pink and there are darker patches of fur around the eyes. The females tend to live in family groups of up to 10 individuals while the males are more likely to face the world alone. They can grow up to 11 centimetres.

Where do they fit in the tree of life?
Species: parvus
Genus: Burramys
Family: Burramyidae
Order: Diprotodontia
Class: Mammalia
Subphylum: Vertebra
Phylum: Chordata
Kingdom: Animalia

What is their conservation status?
Mountain Pygmy Possums have an IUCN listing of Critically Endangered.
In Australia, Mountain Pygmy Possums are considered Endangered.