Can you help save the mountain pygmy-possum?

Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,

A tiny marsupial is in trouble from a shortage of food.

The mountain pygmy-possum is the only Australian mammal restricted to a mountain habitat and it relies on Bogong moths for nourishment in the spring and summer in the alps of Victoria and New South Wales.

Bogong moths spend the winter in the lowlands where they breed but migrate to the mountains in the spring where they aestivate (summer hibernation) normally in their billions over the summer. They do this clustered on the walls of caves and clefts of granite boulders at mountain summits but in the last two years their numbers have plummeted.

No one knows why. Is it because of the worsening drought across south-east Australia, heavy pesticide loads applied in the lowlands to control pests in crops and pastures or could it be increased mortality at artificial lights along their migration routes to and from the mountains? This is a critical time as possum numbers are estimated to be less than 2000 and they are critically endangered.

Ballarat is on the migrating path of Victorian populations of moths so this is a place where citizen science can play an important role. There are already anecdotal records of Bogongs being seen in urban gardens here. All records are valuable and can contribute to understanding more about the insect’s life history and behaviour.

Zoos Victoria is leading The Lights Off for Bogong Moths campaign that aims to prevent moths from becoming diverted and trapped by artificial lights in cities over September and October. It has also developed a Bogong moth tracking system that anyone can log into and upload their own records and photographs of moths and their sightings. Submissions will be analysed by moth experts and added to a map of the migration routes.

The spring migration of the moths has just started so now is the time to access the newly launched tracker. It can be found at the State Wide Integrated Flora and Fauna Teams (SWIFFT) website.

Visit zoo.org.au/possums for links to Lights off for the Bogong Moths and  the moth tracker.

Penelope Greenslade,

Soldiers Hill