The Pygmy possum considered extinct rediscovered in Australia’s island

The pygmy possum, which is  known as the smallest possum in the globe, once believed to be extinct was re-discovered living in Australia

The little mammal was discovered on Kangaroo Island  after the mass wildfires  in the  same area a year ago.

About ninety percent of the  whole island was affected by the wildfire and scientists knew that many species fell as the victims of fire.  However the discovery of pygmy possums alive suggests that the island conditions are  not as worse as first believed.

The discovery was made by the conservation group Kangaroo Island  called “ Land for Wildlife’’

“This capture is the first documented record of the species surviving post-fire,” fauna ecologist Pat Hodgens said in his interview.

Craig Wickham, the managing director of  Kangaroo Island explained: “Despite nearly 90 percent of habitat lost to fires, numerous animal numbers have since been detected.

Their sightings, via motion-sensing cameras, is heartening for the Island after fears that habitat destruction would decimate the threatened nocturnal marsupial recorded numbers of between 300 and 500.”

The possums are native to both Kangaroo Island and Tasmania, and there have been 113 recorded sightings of the pygmy possum occasionally spotted in South Australia and Victoria.

Since these small animals are indeed small and weigh around 0,35 ounces, they are extremely difficult to spot, which adds to difficulties of monitoring works.

Although the wildfires destroyed most of the habitat of possums, Pat Hodgens remarked, “He’s clearly not very common, and we were certainly hoping that we would locate them.” It is crucial right now because many species that rely on extremely ancient, lengthy, unburned vegetation consider it to be their last refuge.

The Australian biodiversity was severely impacted by the mass wildfires last year, which was terrifying and  costed around three billion creatures their lives & ecosystems.