A new forest home for possum on the brink

Lowland Leadbeater’s Possums settling into their new home. Photo: Zoos Victoria.

Victoria’s faunal emblem and most endangered mammal – the lowland Leadbeater’s Possum – is being given a better chance at survival, thanks to a purpose-planted safe haven.

In late October 2026, nine critically endangered lowland Leadbeater’s Possums were released to Haining Farm Sanctuary, a 42-hectare conservation reserve on Wurundjeri Country, east of Melbourne.

The former dairy farm has been transformed into a safe haven with key breeding habitat for lowland Leadbeater’s possum following extensive revegetation since 2018, undertaken by Parks Victoria and Greening Australia, and the recent completion of a 3.6-kilometre predator-exclusion fence and extensive control of foxes and cats.

Project partners at a gate into the predator-exclusion zone. L-R: Lachlan Badura (Parks Victoria), Zoe Birne (Greening Australia), and Dan Harley (Zoos Victoria).

Dr Dan Harley, Manager Fighting Extinction Field Programs at Zoos Victoria, said the genetically distinct lowland population of Leadbeater’s possum had declined to fewer than 15 individuals in the wild due to habitat pressures and predation from cats and foxes.

“We’ve created a safe haven at Haining Farm, where the population can recover without the pressures that drove them to the brink,” Dr Harley said.

The young forest at Haining Farm lacks hollows, so Zoos Victoria has installed nest boxes. Photo: Rick Hammond / Zoos Victoria.

Greening Australia Technical Specialist Zoe Birnie said the design of the restoration at Haining Farm needed to consider water flows as well as revegetation, given the lowland Leadbeater’s habitat preferences.

“The possums are known to inhabit areas that are wet, damp, cold and dark, so the design included earthworks to create a network of wetland cells, as well as high-density plantings of diverse species to create the structure and shade the possums need,” said Ms Birnie.

“It’s fantastic to see all that targeted planning pay off, to have reached a point where experts now consider Haining Farm suitable to support a possum release.”

Prior to release, each possum was fitted with a radio tracking collar, which will enable field teams to monitor their establishment success at release sites. As a territorial species, this data will help inform where additional family groups are established during future releases.

The release group includes possums that form part of a genetic rescue program, where conservation biologists pair animals from the distinct highland and lowland populations to alleviate the impacts of inbreeding and improve reproductive success.

Monitoring the possums released at Haining Farm to ensure they are settling in well. Photo: Zoos Victoria.

Dr Mark Norman, Chief Conservation Scientist at Parks Victoria, said predator-free safe havens are invaluable tools for protecting endangered species.

“Our goal may have been to save a rare possum, but by protecting this area, regrowing the forest and improving the waterways, we’ve created habitat for a host of species that need refuge,” Dr Norman said.

As natural food resources increase over coming years, Haining Farm Sanctuary will also provide suitable habitat for Victoria’s bird emblem, the Helmeted Honeyeater, which inhabits the same dense swamp forest habitat as lowland Leadbeater’s possum.

More than 650,000 plants, representing more than 130 species, have been planted over the years in an effort to re-establish suitable habitat for both species.

Further Leadbeater’s Possum releases will occur in Autumn 2027, which will include animals from Healesville Sanctuary’s conservation breeding program and Yellingbo Nature Conservation Reserve.

The density of the young forest at the release site is an important factor in its suitability as habitat for the possums.

We acknowledge the support of John T Reid Charitable Trusts and other philanthropic donors. The predator-exclusion fence at Haining Farm was delivered by Zoos Victoria and Parks Victoria with funding support from the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action and Melbourne Water through the Yarra4Life collaboration.

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