Dr Linda Broome ‘Emergency feeding of Mountain Pygmy-possums after the Black Summer fires’

Abstract
On January 4, 2020 the catastrophic Dunn’s Road fire exploded into a severe fire storm centred on the habitat of the critically endangered mountain pygmy-possum in northern Kosciuszko National Park, near Cabramurra. One third of the habitat of the possum in NSW was severely burnt, with all vegetation cover removed. While it was hoped the possums had survived the fire deep within the shelter of their rocky homes, we suspected they would be short on food and water due to the prolonged drought drying up local boulder streams and the record low numbers of a major food source, the bogong moth, migrating from their lowland breeding grounds. In this talk I outline the rapid response measures the Department of Planning and Environment Saving Our Species Team, NPWS, Zoos Victoria, colleagues, friends, volunteers and local school children took to sustain the possums in the after math of the fire for the next two years, the results of our efforts and the current status of the possum under the continuing threat of global heating.

Biography 
Linda is a Senior Threatened Species Officer with the NSW Department of Planning and Environment, Biodiversity Conservation Section. She has been conducting research and monitoring populations of mountain pygmy-possums and bogong moths in Kosciuszko National Park for 37 years, since January 1986.

Booking link: https://www.trybooking.com/COAWN

Booking
Lunchtime talks are held at 12.30 pm every Thursday from February to November. Talks last for 1 hour. We welcome donations by gold coins, notes, or electronically. The Friends use donations received at each talk to support Gardens’ programs and development and we thank all those who have donated. 

Unless otherwise indicated, talks are held in the ANBG Theatrette.

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The Friends of the ANBG thank the speakers who volunteer their time and talents to further the knowledge of all attending events in the Gardens. Many summaries or PowerPoint presentations of Thursday talks are available to Friends at the ANBG library. Please direct queries about the talks to the Thursday Talks Team: email talks@friendsanbg.org.au.