The Leadbeater’s possum, aka fairy possum, has been greatly restricted to small pockets of alpine ash, mountain ash, and snow gum forests in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. In 2025 an unknown population was shown to occur near Yarrangobilly Caves, Southern New South Wales. These possums face the threats of habitat loss and destruction at the hands of logging, fires, & faulty fire suppression efforts; and climate change, that can cause extreme droughts and flooding. The IUCN lists these adorable little possums as Critically Endangered. Their population trend is listed as decreasing.
First the Stats…
Scientific name: Gymnobelideus leadbeateri
Weight: Up to 5.82 ounces
Length: Up to 13 inches, including their tail
Lifespan: Up to 9 years
Now on to the Facts!
1.) There are only an estimated 2,500 wild individuals remaining.
2.) They are believed to have evolved about 20 million years ago during the Miocene epoch.
3.) These possums were discovered in 1867 and named after John Leadbeater, the taxidermist at the Museum Victoria at that time.
4.) Due to the 1939 Black Friday fires, the species was thought to have been extinct. Then, on April 3, 1961, an individual was rediscovered by naturalist Eric Wilkinson in the forests near Cambarville, and the first specimen in more than 50 years was captured later that month.
5.) Later in 1961, a colony was discovered near Marysville. Since then extensive searches have located the existing population in the highlands.
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6.) That being said, the availability of suitable habitat is critical. The forest must be neither too old nor too young, with conservation efforts for these possums involving protection of remaining old-growth stands, and maintenance of younger stands that are allowed to attain hollow-bearing age.
7.) Since their peak in the 1980s of an estimated 7,500 individuals, the Leadbeater’s possum population was expected to further decline rapidly, by as much as 90%, due to a habitat bottleneck.
Did you know…?
The February 2009 Black Saturday bushfires destroyed 43% of these possums’ habitat in the Central Highlands, halving the wild population to 1,500. A study in 2014 concluded there is a 92% chance the Leadbeater’s ecosystem in the Victoria central highlands will collapse within 50 years or less.
8.) A habitat bottleneck refers to a drastic reduction in the size of a population due to adverse environmental factors such as habitat destruction, natural disasters like drought, wildfires, floods, earthquakes, or human activities like overhunting and/or pollution. This reduction leads to a loss of genetic diversity, making the remaining population more susceptible to diseases and environmental changes
9.) Like so many other possums, these critters are nocturnal (active at night).
10.) They are also hard to study as they are fast moving and heavily arboreal (spend their lives in trees), occupying the upper story of some of the tallest forest trees in the world.
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11.) These critters dwell in small family colonies, aka passels, of up to 12 individuals, including 1 monogamous (mates for life) breeding pair.
12.) Females undergo up to a 20 day gestation that yields up to 2 joeys.
Did you know…?
Due to the near constant attacks, young females are forced to leave at a much earlier age than their male brothers, which results in the extremely high male to female ratio of 3:1.
13.) Joeys spend up to an additional 90 days in their mother’s marsupium (pouch).
14.) Passels share a nest high up in the trees; up to 98+ feet above the ground.
15.) The passel is a matriarchal society, where the dominant female actively banishes up-and-coming females as well as other intruders.
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16.) Solitary individuals have tough time surviving. When young males disperse at about 15 months of age, they tend either to join another colony as a supernumerary member (in addition to the regular or required number of members in a group), or they will gather together into bachelor groups while they await a mate.
17.) Spiders, crickets, moths, termites, beetles, sap, gum, nectar, and honeydew are all consumed, making these critters omnivores (eat plant and animal matter).
Did you know…?
These possums and their forest habitat have been the subject of the largest longitudinal study of any species in the world—conducted by David Lindenmayer, a professor at the Australian National University, and his research assistants since 1983.
18.) Plants and their exudates make up to 80% of their daily diet. However, arthropods are needed to produce enough energy to breed.
19.) These possums are readily preyed on by owls. Feral cats also prey on these possums.
20.) As these critters are endangered and occupy a very restricted range, logging continues to pose a critical threat to these critters. The logging in 1993 of much of the possum’s habitat, known as “zone 1” a .02 square mile reserve east of Powelltown, subsequently followed a “mapping error”.
But wait, there’s a tad bit more on the Leadbeater’s possum!
21.) On June 27, 2013 the Napthine led State government passed legislative alterations to allow VicForests access to Victoria’s forests for the next 25 years and to be self monitoring (this follows the success of other recent cases preventing logging of remaining possum habitats).
22.) On April 22, 2015, Greg Hunt, Minister for the Environment, declared that the Leadbeater’s possums would be listed as a “Critically Endangered” species under the EPBC Act.
23.) Leadbeater’s possums remaining after the 2009 bushfire ended up with 3 remaining individuals being taken into captivity for their own protection. 1 animal has since been reported as dying. There are no plans to release the remaining 2 individuals despite a further 2 colonies of these possums having recently been located at Lake Mountain in remnant gully vegetation.
24.) Healesville Sanctuary’s captive breeding program for Leadbeater’s possums recommenced in May 2012 and now houses 6 individuals from the genetically distinct Yellingbo population. As of May 2015, they are housed as pairs in large enclosures (off display), but have yet to breed.
Now a Short Leadbeater’s Possum Video!
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Some source material acquired from: Wikipedia & IUCN
Photo credit: Konan Farrelly-Horsfall
