Experts stunned after trail cameras capture rare species previously thought to be extinct: 'It's extraordinary'

For centuries, the leadbeater's possum was thought to be extinct in New South Wales, but now, no longer, at least not according to strategically placed trail cameras in Kosciuszko National Park.

"It's extraordinary to discover a species that was previously thought to be extinct in NSW," the minister for the environment, Penny Sharpe, said.

"Do good and good will come to you" is a popular proverb and applicable in the case of this critically endangered possum. The threatened species team of ecologists set up the cameras to document the smoky mouse, another critically endangered species.

In the effort to save one, ecologists added a new rescue project to their to-do list. Even more spectacular was the monumental effort of sifting through a million pictures to find seven — just seven. It's hard to get more dedicated than that.

Trail cameras are the perfect miniature observatories in the long fight to rehabilitate endangered species across the world. They're non-invasive, cost-effective, and data-rich, providing abundance through simplification.

So much is possible with these simple cameras, including behavioural insights, animal distribution and range, threat detections, tracking, evaluating habitat restoration efforts, long-term monitoring, and activity patterns.

It clearly worked out very well for ecologists on the ground in New South Wales. A single picture speaks volumes and imparts important information in favor of positive but urgent conservation efforts.

Leadbeater's possums primarily feed on sap, nectar, and excretions from eucalyptus and wattle trees. This feeding behavior makes them effective pollinators, a crucial group in the animal kingdom.

As a pollinator, the leadbeater's possum plays an important role in their environment and our food supply. The domino effect of losing an efficient pollinator can negatively impact local populations and beyond.

Healthy and diverse ecosystems may sound superfluous to those unafflicted by species population declines on the other side of the world, but extinction tends to have butterfly effects.

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The more species are lost to territorial contraction, overhunting, and ambivalence, the more the food supply chain is disrupted, its infected roots spreading out, far and wide. Today, the dominoes stopped falling in NSW, but who is to say what tomorrow might bring?

However, the battle for repopulation is far from over, according to ecologist Dan Harley: "While the NSW discovery is exciting and quite unexpected, it in no way alters the species' Critically Endangered status at this stage."

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