A survey conducted in Namadgi National Park and Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve to find out how native populations fared after the devastating 2003 fires has shown possums and gliders remain abundant in the park, Conservation Research Ecologist, Dr Melissa Snape said today.

The survey, which was prompted by rangers observing animals in the National Park, aimed to accurately establish the presence and distribution of arboreal (tree dwelling) mammals.

“This is a good news story for the ACT showing the marked resilience of these mammals to withstand high intensity fire events such as the 2003 bushfires,” Melissa said.

In January 2003, about 90% of the reserves were burnt by a wildfire of geographic extent and severity previously unprecedented in the ACT within recorded history. Many questioned the ability of flora and fauna species to recover from such a high intensity wildfire.

A survey conducted in Namadgi and Tidbinbilla shortly after the 2003 Canberra wildfires provided baseline data on the distribution of arboreal mammal species in these areas.

“In what is an encouraging reflection of the health of our National Park, all expected species were re-sighted in the 2014 survey, including the Greater Glider, Common Brushtail Possum, Mountain Brushtail Possum, Common Ringtail Possum and Sugar Glider.

“Another significant result is that the Yellow-bellied Gilder, which was not detected immediately following 2003, is now a species detected in the reserve,” Dr Snape said.

The survey was conducted by ACT Government ecologists using a combination of spotlighting (from a vehicle) and call-playback methods.

Namadgi National Park and the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve together protect almost half of all land in the Australian Capital Territory.