Honey Possum Information Report
The honey possum is a tiny marsupial found exclusively in the South West of Australia, from Geraldton to Esperance. The honey possum is the last species surviving in a family of marsupials called Tarsipedidae. The Nyoongar people of the south west region gave it the name “noolbenger”, but the scientific name for the honey possum is Tarsipes Rostratus. The honey possum has developed many physical and behavioural adaptations in order to survive in its continually varying and challenging environment. This report contains all the facts about this amazing creature. It will discuss the physical characteristics and diet of the honey possum, its lifecycle and breeding information, its adaptations and the environmental and predatory threats.
Description
The honey possum is nocturnal, so generally will not be seen during the day (although they may feed during the day as well when food is scarce). It is tiny - about the size of a mouse, and grey in colour with three brown stripes running down its back. They have a strong prehensile tail to hang off branches with, and a long pointed snout that has evolved to help with their specialised feeding habits. They are small and fast so you will have to be quick if you want to see one.
Diet
The honey possum is the only non flying mammal that is nectarivious. Nectarivious means that this animal lives exclusively on a diet of nectar and pollen. In its native habitat it feeds on many native species of Banksia, but it also feeds on a wide range of flowers, as flowers are seasonal.
Breeding and nesting
The honey possum is a marsupial, which means they give birth to relatively undeveloped young that then live in a pouch and are suckled on milk. Honey possums have 2-3 joeys at a time, and can have 2-3 sets of young per year. The honey possum can control when they have their young, and will often delay the development of fertilised eggs until enough flowers and food are available for the young to survive. Gestation (pregnancy) is 3-4 weeks and the young are about the size of a grain of rice when born. They live in the pouch for 8-9 weeks and are fully developed and sexually mature at 6 months old.
Life cycle
Threats
The honey possum is a small tasty treat for a variety of birds and animals. Predators not only include owls, kites, falcons and kestrels from the sky, but they can be attacked in their habitat by tiger snakes and monitor lizards. Introduced pests are also a problem with feral cats and foxes also preying on the honey possum.
Apart from predators, honey possums face a number of environmental threats. Natural disasters such as fire, disease (dieback) and drought can wipe out whole populations. Human threats are posed by urban development - clearing and grazing and even wildflower picking can destroy the honey possums habitat.
The honey possum is not currently under threat or endangered, but the above disasters can cause devastation in localised populations.
Adaptations
The honey possum has evolved to survive and prosper in its specialised environment with some unique physical and behavioural adaptations. An adaptation is a trait that has evolved that increases the chance of survival for the animal.
Physical
The honey possum has developed over the years a long snout with a brush tipped tongue that is very efficient in harvesting nectar and pollen. Their teeth are nearly non existent as they are no longer needed for their specialised feeding. They have a curling prehensile (able to grasp or hold objects) tail that enables them to hang on branches leaving their forelegs free to manipulate flowers. They are small and light, able to balance on even the flimsiest of flowers. Their feet have rough sticky pads for climbing and opposable digits for grasping.
Behavioural
Honey possums have developed some behaviours to help them survive. When food is scarce, they will go to sleep to conserve energy. This is known as torpor. When it is cold they will huddle in groups to preserve heat, and this also serves to make them appear bigger to deter predators. when they are feeding, they know not to leave the canopy of trees so as to make them less visible to predators in the sky.
Fun facts
The honey possum is only a distant relative of the possum and does not eat honey!
They live in a small home area, but can travel a long way if they are running from fire or a predator.
They play an important role as flower pollinators, transferring pollen on their fur from flower to flower.
The only place in Perth city you may see a honey possum in the wild is Whitman Park.
The honey possum is a highly successful specialised creature that survives only in our part of the world. It has evolved over the years to survive all manner of environmental challenges and predatory threats. It has only a few young, but parents them so well that all have a good chance of maturation and therefore continuation of the species. It is small cute and very important that we continue to monitor the honey possum’s survival as it is unique to our part of the world.
References
(Honey Possum South West, Western Australia, ND). Research on the honey possum. Retrieved from http://www.honeypossum.com.au/research.ph
(NBII, ND). Honey Possums and Wildflowers, a case study. Retrieved from http://www.aaee.org.au/docs/WAbugs/cs3.pdf.
Resource websites
honeypossum.com.au
abc.net.au
ladywildlife.com
The honey possum is a tiny marsupial found exclusively in the South West of Australia, from Geraldton to Esperance. The honey possum is the last species surviving in a family of marsupials called Tarsipedidae. The Nyoongar people of the south west region gave it the name “noolbenger”, but the scientific name for the honey possum is Tarsipes Rostratus. The honey possum has developed many physical and behavioural adaptations in order to survive in its continually varying and challenging environment. This report contains all the facts about this amazing creature. It will discuss the physical characteristics and diet of the honey possum, its lifecycle and breeding information, its adaptations and the environmental and predatory threats.
Description
The honey possum is nocturnal, so generally will not be seen during the day (although they may feed during the day as well when food is scarce). It is tiny - about the size of a mouse, and grey in colour with three brown stripes running down its back. They have a strong prehensile tail to hang off branches with, and a long pointed snout that has evolved to help with their specialised feeding habits. They are small and fast so you will have to be quick if you want to see one.
Diet
The honey possum is the only non flying mammal that is nectarivious. Nectarivious means that this animal lives exclusively on a diet of nectar and pollen. In its native habitat it feeds on many native species of Banksia, but it also feeds on a wide range of flowers, as flowers are seasonal.
Breeding and nesting
The honey possum is a marsupial, which means they give birth to relatively undeveloped young that then live in a pouch and are suckled on milk. Honey possums have 2-3 joeys at a time, and can have 2-3 sets of young per year. The honey possum can control when they have their young, and will often delay the development of fertilised eggs until enough flowers and food are available for the young to survive. Gestation (pregnancy) is 3-4 weeks and the young are about the size of a grain of rice when born. They live in the pouch for 8-9 weeks and are fully developed and sexually mature at 6 months old.
Life cycle
Threats
The honey possum is a small tasty treat for a variety of birds and animals. Predators not only include owls, kites, falcons and kestrels from the sky, but they can be attacked in their habitat by tiger snakes and monitor lizards. Introduced pests are also a problem with feral cats and foxes also preying on the honey possum.
Apart from predators, honey possums face a number of environmental threats. Natural disasters such as fire, disease (dieback) and drought can wipe out whole populations. Human threats are posed by urban development - clearing and grazing and even wildflower picking can destroy the honey possums habitat.
The honey possum is not currently under threat or endangered, but the above disasters can cause devastation in localised populations.
Adaptations
The honey possum has evolved to survive and prosper in its specialised environment with some unique physical and behavioural adaptations. An adaptation is a trait that has evolved that increases the chance of survival for the animal.
Physical
The honey possum has developed over the years a long snout with a brush tipped tongue that is very efficient in harvesting nectar and pollen. Their teeth are nearly non existent as they are no longer needed for their specialised feeding. They have a curling prehensile (able to grasp or hold objects) tail that enables them to hang on branches leaving their forelegs free to manipulate flowers. They are small and light, able to balance on even the flimsiest of flowers. Their feet have rough sticky pads for climbing and opposable digits for grasping.
Behavioural
Honey possums have developed some behaviours to help them survive. When food is scarce, they will go to sleep to conserve energy. This is known as torpor. When it is cold they will huddle in groups to preserve heat, and this also serves to make them appear bigger to deter predators. when they are feeding, they know not to leave the canopy of trees so as to make them less visible to predators in the sky.
Fun facts
The honey possum is only a distant relative of the possum and does not eat honey!
They live in a small home area, but can travel a long way if they are running from fire or a predator.
They play an important role as flower pollinators, transferring pollen on their fur from flower to flower.
The only place in Perth city you may see a honey possum in the wild is Whitman Park.
The honey possum is a highly successful specialised creature that survives only in our part of the world. It has evolved over the years to survive all manner of environmental challenges and predatory threats. It has only a few young, but parents them so well that all have a good chance of maturation and therefore continuation of the species. It is small cute and very important that we continue to monitor the honey possum’s survival as it is unique to our part of the world.
References
(Honey Possum South West, Western Australia, ND). Research on the honey possum. Retrieved from http://www.honeypossum.com.au/research.ph
(NBII, ND). Honey Possums and Wildflowers, a case study. Retrieved from http://www.aaee.org.au/docs/WAbugs/cs3.pdf.
Resource websites
honeypossum.com.au
abc.net.au
ladywildlife.com