Ecologists have had a chance encounter with a Brushtail Possum in the Mulga woodlands outside the Queensland town of Cunnamulla, where the species hasn't been detected in over a decade.
The healthy-looking individual with silver-grey fur and pointed ears brought joy to ecologists and sanctuary staff when it walked into the frame of a motion sensor camera that was deployed to monitor feral cat activity at Australian Wildlife Conservancy's Bowra Wildlife Sanctuary on Kunja Country.
While the possum is notorious for its late-night shenanigans in many suburban and city areas, the population is scarce in the semi-arid zone of southwest Queensland. The last detection on sanctuary was around 10 years ago, with few Brushtail Possum records in the surrounding region.
AWC "I actually did a double take at the images," laughed Dr Helena Stokes, Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) Wildlife Ecologist. "We haven't had any signs of possums living on sanctuary in a long time, then sanctuary managers recently found some scat we suspected to be from a possum, and then the photos turned up a couple of weeks later. It was a great surprise."
Dr Stokes explained that although Brushtail Possums are frequently sighted in cities and suburbs, feral predators and, increasingly, climate change have contributed to a decline of their populations in drier areas.
"Much in the way of other native mammals, Brushtail Possums are the victims of predation by feral cats and foxes. Populations have declined or been exterminated across much of outback Australia," Dr Stokes explained. "Other factors that have contributed to their decline, particularly in southwest Queensland, are periods of hot, dry weather and extensive habitat clearing which reduces food and shelter availability for the possums."
"Sanctuary managers Mark and Tess McLaren have been working particularly hard to remove feral predators from the sanctuary, as well as feral herbivores such as goats, which helps to reduce grazing pressure on native vegetation. Through these measures we hope to maintain suitable habitat on Bowra, and encourage more Brushtail Possums to return and stick around."
AWC While the possum's presence was a significant surprise, ecologists were puzzled by its location on sanctuary which was around 6 km from the creek line where the species was last detected.
"The area of Mulga woodland where we detected this individual looks like unusual habitat for a Brushtail Possum because its quite dry, with few visible hollows for them to shelter in," Dr Stokes added. "However, we did find suitable hollow trees within 1 km or so of where the photographs were captured, so the individual might have just been roaming around searching for food or passing through the area."
Now that a possum has reappeared on sanctuary, Dr Stokes is keen to explore whether the individual is a regular resident of Bowra Wildlife Sanctuary.
"It will be interesting to see whether we pick up any further records within the next year. Sanctuary managers have recently increased feral cat and fox management efforts, which we hope will benefit possums and other native mammal species on sanctuary."
