Leadbeater's Possum (Gymnobelideus leadbeater)

One small attractive species of possum

Adapted to life in the wet sclerophyll

Forests of Victoria was not sighted between

1909 and 1960 and was thought to be extinct.

Then, in 1961, Leadbeater's Possum

(Gymnobelideus leadbeater)was rediscovered

in a locality near Marysville. It is now

known to inhabit scattered pockets

throughout some 1000 square Kilometres of

Mountain Ash forests. Its future depends

On a number of elements inherent in a

Healthy, functioning forest. The

Essentials, of course, are adequate food

And shelter. Old-growth forest, with enough

Mature trees and 'stags' (the dead, but

Still standing, bodies of Mountain Ash

trees) provide hollows for nesting. Here

the colonies of possums, consisting of one

breeding pair with a number of grown

off-spring, build nests of shredded bark

in which to sleep through the days and

rear young.

set design©Kids4ME2004

Music - The Forest Speaks