As part of the marsupial family, the Mountain Pygmy Possum is Australia’s only hibernating marsupial. These little possums weigh only 45 grams and are so small that they can fit in the palm of your hand.

Dependent on winter snow environment, Australian Mountain Pygmy Possums in the alpine regions of Victoria and New South Wales are threatened, as alpine habitats in areas such as Mount Buller, Mount Higginbotham, Mount Bogong, and the Bogong High Plains continue to shrink.

What is threatening the Mountain Pygmy possums? On many front these little animals are threatened, by an increase in numbers of predators into what remaining sanctuaries that are left for them. A degradation of their habitats, and land development of surrounding areas for industrial and commercial purposes have caused an increase in predators such as cats and feral foxes.

As an example, one of the best breeding places for these amazing little possums is at Mount Buller, but due to land development to make way for a ski resort, an estimated one-third of the area has been lost and will negatively affect these creatures.

The males of the species need to migrate safely to reach females during their mating season, and with the hindrance of roads, ski slopes, fragmented landscape, and along with that the diminishing of the their vital food source – Bogong moths – threatens Mountain Pygym Possum’s population and genetic diversity.

Importance of Raising Awareness for Mountain Pygmy Possums

The importance of raising awareness for the Mountain Pygmy Possums, at Mount Buller and other areas under development in Victoria, can’t be over emphasised. The most effective way to accomplish this is through interactive wildlife conservation seminars.

At Black Snake Productions – a well-known wildlife conservation group, we realise the importance of raising awareness about the plight of the Mountain Pygmy Possums and many other endangered Australian animals species. This is why we offer interactive wildlife conservation seminars to raise awareness.

Interactive wildlife conservation seminars allows those in attendance to interact with various Australian animals such as the Mountain Pygmy Possums, and will learn about how habitats are being lost because of modern agriculture practices, pesticides, over land development, waste dumping, and invasion of problematic species.

Here at Black Snake Productions, we are passionate about wildlife conservation and educate people of all ages to understand the best way to help the survival of ‘all’ animals, not just certain species, requires protecting whole ecosystems at large.

We are successful at accomplishing this by conducting interactive wildlife conservation seminars for corporate events, and at schools to educate children about the importance of animal conservation.