Mammals
Gilbert's Potoroo
Potorous gilbertii · also called Gilberts potoroo
Confirmed alive again in 1994 after more than a century without a single sighting, Gilbert’s potoroo remains one of the rarest mammals on Earth, its entire natural population confined to a tiny patch of Western Australian coastline barely large enough to fit within a small town.
Overview
Gilbert’s potoroo, Potorous gilbertii, is a critically endangered, fungus-dependent marsupial native to forest and coastal habitat within an extremely small area of southwestern Western Australia. Its dramatic rediscovery after more than a century of presumed extinction, status as one of the rarest mammals in the world, and near-total dietary reliance on underground fungi make it one of the most conservation-urgent and biologically specialised small mammals found anywhere on Earth.
Rediscovered against impossible odds
Few conservation stories carry the weight of Gilbert’s potoroo’s, a species written off as extinct for generations before its sudden reappearance in 1994 turned it into one of the most closely guarded and intensively protected mammals in Australia.
Status
Critically Endangered, with translocation to predator-free islands and fenced reserves supporting a cautious population increase beyond its single, extremely small natural site.
Gilbert's Potoroo: common questions
Why was Gilbert's potoroo thought to be extinct?
This species had not been confirmed in the wild for more than a hundred years and was widely presumed extinct before its unexpected rediscovery in 1994, an event that stands among the more remarkable mammal rediscoveries in Australian conservation history.
How rare is Gilbert's potoroo today?
This species is considered one of the rarest and most critically endangered mammals in the world, with a total population historically numbering only in the low hundreds, confined to an extremely small natural area in southwestern Western Australia.
How is Gilbert's potoroo being protected from extinction?
This species has been the focus of intensive conservation efforts, including translocation to predator-free islands and fenced mainland reserves, specifically aimed at reducing the risk that a single catastrophic event, such as a bushfire, could wipe out its entire tiny natural population at once.
What does Gilbert's potoroo eat?
This species depends so heavily on underground fungi that it is considered one of the most specialised fungus-eating mammals known, a diet that also makes it an important disperser of fungal spores within its extremely limited habitat.