Iconic possum 'at risk of extinction' if logging continues

Australia's endangered Leadbeater's Possum faces extinction within 30 years unless more is done to stop logging in Victoria's mountain ash forests, researchers said on Wednesday. A study which considered research from over 30 years found the iconic species will be unable to survive if its natural habitat, Victoria's mountain ash forest, is continually logged.

Carried out as part of the Australian government's National Environmental Science Program, the study was a collaboration between researchers at the Australian National University (ANU) and the University of Melbourne, and Professor David Lindenmayer from the ANU said if existing conservation zones were expanded, the Leadbeater's Possum would have a much better chance of long-term survival.