Love is in the air for Prom’s endangered mice

Dr Phoebe Burns, Native Rodent Biologist at Zoos Victoria is part of a Parks Victoria-Melbourne Zoo team trying to diversify the gene pool for an endangered rodent species, the Pookila, at Wilsons Promontory.

On Thursday this week, they released six little female mice into the wild on the Prom, hoping they will mate up with the locals and change the course of history.

The initiative has been welcomed by Minister for Environment Ingrid Stitt who announced this week that the native animals were released in three locations within the park in the hope of attracting local males and boosting population numbers in Gippsland.

“The release of endangered Pookila in Gippsland is just another action we are taking to secure the longevity of this precious species for years to come,” said Minister Stitt.

“Zoos Victoria’s wildlife conservation work is directly improving the genetic health and resilience of these remaining Pookila populations.”

The mice were raised at Melbourne Zoo and Moonlit Sanctuary as part of the Victorian Pookila Conservation Breeding and Reintroduction Program, which has bred more than 60 pups since 2022.

The Pookila is considered extinct in seven of 12 known Victorian locations, with surviving populations increasingly under threat from drought and predation by feral cats and foxes.

Further loss of genetic diversity to these fractured populations will also place the species at an even greater risk of extinction.

Pookila can be distinguished from the common house mouse by their bicoloured tail, large eyes, soft thick fur, and a lack of ‘mousey’ odour.

“They’re nothing like the pest species that you will find in your house, the black rats and house mice making a mess and stinking things up,” said Dr Burns on Gippsland ABC Radio this week.

“Native rodents are beautiful and generally not smell.

“But they’ve undergone massive decline across Victoria over the past few years.

“We’ve got them at Wilsons Prom and a few populations at Loch Sport,” she said.

The genetics of the two have been combined, bred up into a locatable group, and are now being put out into the field to see what they can do, with surveillance to monitor the success of the program.

Through the Government’s Nature Fund, $690,000 has been invested to protect the Pookila species, along with support from Zoos Victoria, Moonlit Sanctuary, the Australasian Zoo and Aquarium Association and members of the National Pookila Recovery Team.

Through Biodiversity 2037 and a record investment of $582 million since 2014, the Andrews Labor Government is investing more than ever in Victoria’s biodiversity and environment.

“Boosting Pookila numbers is an exciting step in delivering the Prom Sanctuary project, which aims to establish Wilsons Promontory as a climate refuge for native species that need our help,” said Parks Victoria Chief Scientist of Conservation and Climate Action Dr Mark Norman.

“Moonlit Sanctuary's involvement in Pookila breeding exemplifies our commitment to safeguarding our planet's remarkable biodiversity,” said Moonlit Sanctuary Founder and Director Michael Johnson.