There are a very few fairies left in the forest (thought to be extinct until 1961)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.wilderness.org.au/articles/how-save-forest-fairy-extinction

How to save a forest fairy from extinction



The endangered Fairy Possum. Image: Ian Moodie

Updated: 28 February, 2014

Victoria’s gorgeous animal emblem, the Fairy (Leadbeater's) Possum is smaller than a human hand and notoriously shy. In fact, the Fairy Possum is so elusive that it was thought extinct up until 1961, when it was rediscovered in the tall forests of the Central Highlands about 80 kilometres northeast of Melbourne.

Estimates vary, but surveys show that today, only 1,500 (approximately) Fairy Possums exist outside of zoos. By way of comparison, a 2004 study estimated the wild population of Orangutans to be in the vicinity of 61,000.

The critically endangered Fairy Possum is one of the most-studied animals on the planet. After three decades of extensive research, the science is very clear, as is the extinction trajectory of the animal.

The slow march towards extinction

Extinction is not something that happens overnight. It does not simply occur the moment the last individual of a species dies, rather, the extinction process occurs over years and decades.

- See more at: http://www.wilderness.org.au/articles/how-save-forest-fairy-extinction#sthash.OTXVgWEZ.dpuf

FULL info at link. Marta and I have contributed to The Wilderness Society for years. I can't wait to tell my grand kids about real forest fairies. Below is the email that started this.




Not all fairytales are fantasy

Dear Steven,

This is a real fairytale about the endangered Fairy Possum and it desperately needs your help.

This fairy-like creature has lived in the tallest flowering trees on Earth, deep in the Mountain Ash forests of Central Highlands, for over 20 million years. But in just the last 100 years, its world has come literally crashing down.

Industrial logging has destroyed the little creature’s only home on Earth and now less than 1,500 Fairy Possums remain. If logging of our native forests continues at its current rate, the Fairy Possum will become extinct within your lifetime.

We must act now or this defenceless little creature will be lost forever.

View the fairytale now to help this real fairy live happily ever after: http://www.wilderness.org.au/e/fairypossum/

Together, we can make this fairytale come true.

Yours for wilderness,
Lyndon Schneiders
National Director

[TexasProgresive]

1. That little guy is cuter than our 'possums.

I hope they bounce back from near extinction.

[marble falls]

2. Great post, thanks, Omaha Steve!

[oldandhappy]

3. a beautiful little creature

Thank you for the post.

[Omaha Steve]

4. Kick