Photo: Matt West

The Mountain Pygmy-possum, Burramys parvus, is Australia’s only hibernating marsupial, and is restricted to the alpine and subalpine regions of periglacial rock scree and boulderfields in Victoria and New South Wales. Three genetically distinct and geographically isolated populations occur at Mt Buller, the Bogong High Plains Mt Hotham area and at Mt Kosciusko. All three populations are declining. The Mountain Pygmy-possum is most threatened at Mt Buller and the population has rapidly declined since it was first discovered there in 1996.

Nationally the Mountain Pygmy-possum is Endangered and is protected by the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999; a national recovery plan is in preparation. In Victoria the Mountain Pygmy-possum is Endangered and is protected by the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988; an Action Statement for this species was produced in 1991. It is also listed as Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) (2007).

Captive breeding may be an important method of increasing the Mt Buller population. Zoos Victoria became involved in this program in 2007 and is undertaking a captive breeding project at Healesville Sanctuary to reintroduce the Mountain Pygmy-possum to the wild.