Leadbeater s Possum

Facts about Leadbeater's Possum. Scientific name for Leadbeater's Possum is Gymnobelideus leadbeateri". For the last century or so, the rediscovery of the Leadbeater's Possum has resulted to most people gaining a lot of interest in this kind of species in addition to the creation of awareness by many institutions and research organizations. The Leadbeater’s Possum is known to be a small arboreal marsupial nocturnal creature which has a soft grey hair, huge eye in addition to its dark brown stripped back. Leadbeater's Possums dark brown tripped back is prominent but becomes pale underneath its body.

The Leadbeater's Possum has a long tail that measures approximately 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 cm) long and can extend up to 7 inches (18 cm). It also has huge round thin ears that may be up to seventeen centimeters.

Did you know that most of these Leadbeater's Possum needs many of the old growth eucalypt trees for their homes? Well, most of the Leadbeater's Possum species are known to live in the old growth trees of the Mountain ash forest located in Victoria’s central highlands. The highlands extend from Kingale, Toolangi to Powell town located near Warburton. Most of these areas are characterized by a cool moist mountain environment dominated by some of the world’s most known trees and shrubs including the Hickory wattle and the Silver wattle.

The Leadbeater's Possum are known to get their food from these trees especially the gum-rich acacia tree in addition to the honey dews on the nest hollows located on these trees. Other type of foods taken by the Leadbeater's Possum includes manna, nectar and arthropods.

The Leadbeater's Possum live and breed their young ones in nests on trees high above the ground at an approximate height of two to forty six meters. The adult Leadbeater's Possums usually form monogamous pairs with the female juvenile being the most aggressive. The Leadbeater's Possum significant threats may include fire and logging.