The Long-footed Potoroo, one of the rarest marsupials in NSW, has been discovered in Kosciuszko National Park (KNP). Listed as critically endangered, this is only the second location the shy, nocturnal marsupial has been detected in NSW since the 1990s.
PHOTO: The detection in KNP is just the second location the species has been seen in NSW since the 1990’s CREDITS: NPWS
NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) ecologists made the discovery while reviewing wildlife camera photographs from a feral cat monitoring program in the Byadbo area.
The photos show an individual animal, but could be evidence of the first population of Long-footed Potoroos detected in a NSW national park since the early 1990s.
The Long-footed Potoroo was thought to mainly live in Victoria, with just a tiny population a few kilometres north of the border in Bondi State Forest, south of Bombala.
PHOTO: The Long-footed Potoroo is also known to have habitat in the Bondi State forest, with a small population present.
The potential existence of two separate populations of Long-footed Potoroos in NSW helps improve the long-term survival of this species by reducing risk of extinction from a major threat like a bushfire.
The NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) will now expand the Saving our Species Long-footed Potoroo project to incorporate this new find.
NPWS will increase targeted monitoring, and consider what park management changes may be needed to protect the species including fire management, fox and feral cat control.
The discovery comes soon after the Leadbeater’s Possum, long believed to be extinct in NSW, was also discovered in Kosciuszko National Park.