Critically Endangered Smoky Mouse found in Kosciuszko

Media release: 30 November 2015

The critically endangered Smoky Mouse has been found alive and well for the first time in Kosciuszko National Park, surprising and delighting the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) crew who have been doing revegetation and habitat creation works in the park.

Until this discovery the only known population of the small, pale grey coloured mice in NSW was restricted to the Nullica area on the South Coast.

Three individuals, two males and one female were found together earlier this month at Happy Jacks as part of an annual survey for the endangered Mountain Pygmy Possum.

Gabriel Wilks, NPWS Environmental Officer said the extraordinary find was an unexpected reward following earthworks, mulching and planting to rehabilitate a former Snowy Scheme construction site.

“Every year NPWS conducts surveys with fauna specialist Martin Schulz to measure the benefits of revegetation works on native animals and to monitor the Mountain Pygmy Possum,” said Ms Wilks.

“Despite previous surveying on site no Smoky Mouse has ever been found alive in Kosciuszko National Park before.

“In the 1990s we found three mice that had been killed by a feral cat and Smoky Mouse fur in a Quoll scat.

“It’s such as thrill to see these three thriving individuals turn up in the middle of rehabilitation works.

“Smoky Mouse were once known to occur across South Eastern NSW but the increase of feral cats and foxes as well as habitat loss has impacted this species and population numbers are now critically low.

“It’s fantastic to see that they are still in the snowy region and it just goes to show the value of ongoing rehabilitation and revegetation works.

“We’ll continue to plant native vegetation and create habitat suited to the Smoky Mouse and hope to learn a lot more about this extremely rare species through our monitoring programs,” Ms Wilks said.

The Smoky Mouse is listed as site-managed species under the NSW Government’s Saving Our Species initiative, a conservation program that aims to secure as many threatened species as possible in the wild for the next 100 years.

The ultimate goal is to secure the long-term future of the Smoky Mouse and reduce any threats to help this species survive.

Contact: Sarah Scroope