{"id":220176,"date":"2025-06-28T02:27:11","date_gmt":"2025-06-28T02:27:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/220176\/"},"modified":"2025-06-28T02:27:11","modified_gmt":"2025-06-28T02:27:11","slug":"scientists-thought-these-forest-fairies-went-extinct-then-they-saw-a-bushy-tail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/220176\/","title":{"rendered":"Scientists Thought These ‘Forest Fairies’ Went Extinct \u2014 Then They Saw A Bushy Tail"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last year, ecologists placed trail cameras around Kosciuszko National Park in New South Wales, Australia. According to Smithsonian Magazine<\/a>, the scientists hoped to capture footage of the smoky mouse, an endangered species known for their namesake gray fur.<\/p>\n

Recently, the researchers gathered their cameras and pored through the footage. They found pics of the smoky mouse, and, in a shocking twist, they also spotted someone else \u2014 someone they hadn\u2019t seen there in years.
\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"possumDCCEEW<\/p>\n

The unlikely forest-dweller was a Leadbeater\u2019s possum, an Australian mammal long believed to be extinct in this region of the country. According to Friends of Leadbeater\u2019s Possum Inc<\/a>, this beloved endangered species can be recognized by their long, bushy tails and the dark stripes along the center of their backs.<\/p>\n

\"possumDCCEEW<\/p>\n

These possums are very important to the people of Australia, especially those living in Victoria.<\/p>\n

\u201cNicknamed \u2018forest fairies,\u2019 Leadbeater\u2019s possums are the faunal emblem of Victoria \u2014 a designation similar to the state animals of the United States,\u201d Smithsonian Magazine wrote in a piece about the discovery<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"babyDan Harley – Healesville Sanctuary<\/p>\n

For years, scientists assumed the possums only lived in Victoria. Finding them in New South Wales was an interesting surprise.<\/p>\n

\u201c[They were] previously known only from bones, believed to be up to 200 years old, that were discovered in caves near the recent detection site,\u201d the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) wrote in a press release.<\/p>\n

\"babyDan Harley – Healesville Sanctuary<\/p>\n

Spotting these animals in the park is a promising sign that conservation efforts are working.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe discovery of a new, separate population brings hope for the conservation of this species,\u201d Victorian Minister for Environment Steve Dimopoulos said in the press release. \u201c[It] reduces the risk to the species from single catastrophic events.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"possumZoos Victoria <\/p>\n

Now, scientists are placing more cameras in the park. They hope to gain information about the species, which they\u2019ll use when planning conservation tactics. They\u2019re also celebrating this remarkable environmental win.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an amazing discovery,\u201d NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service wrote in a Facebook post<\/a>. \u201cHopefully, this is the first of many more wonderful discoveries to come!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Chubby<\/a>Chubby Possum Is Full Of Regrets After Trying To Make This Bird Box His HomeHe couldn\u2019t quite fit \u2026<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last year, ecologists placed trail cameras around Kosciuszko National Park in New South Wales, Australia. According to Smithsonian…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":220177,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3847],"tags":[1718,1716,728,26087,61900,70,1715,1713,16,15,1717],"class_list":{"0":"post-220176","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-animal-encounters","9":"tag-daily-dodo","10":"tag-environment","11":"tag-maeve-dunigan","12":"tag-possums","13":"tag-science","14":"tag-standard","15":"tag-the-dodo","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom","18":"tag-wildlife"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114758631761902103","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=220176"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220176\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/220177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=220176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=220176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=220176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}