Arabella's Save the Leadbeater's Possum Fund

AN EIGHT-YEAR-OLDS PLIGHT TO SAVE VICTORIA'S EMBLEM - THE LEADBEATER'S POSSUM

About a month before Arabella's 7th birthday, after reading the Zoos Victoria members magazine and being inspired by some other children, she declared she didn't want any presents for her birthday. Instead, she wanted to raise money to save endangered animals. 

After some research, she discovered there are very few Leadbeater's Possums left in the wild, so this is the animal she chose. Arabella spend the following two years raising money to go towards, Zoos Victoria Leadbeater's Possum Program, dedicated to saving this critically engaged species.

Arabella says "I want to help Leadbeater's Possums because they are so fluffy and cute, and I want to stop them from becoming extinct, so maybe one day I can see them in the wild. They are too precious to be gone forever. By doing this fundraiser, I want to educate people and encourage them to help too. There are small things you can do like recycling, using 100% recycled toilet paper, visiting the zoos and maybe doing a fundraiser like this yourself."  

For Arabella's 7th birthday party, she asked that instead of bringing presents, people donated what they would have spent on a gift, to this fund. On her 7th birthday and throughout 2021, she raised $2,000! A great effort, but determined to reach her goal of $5,000, for her 8th birthday, she held another fundraiser, once again forgoing presents and asking people to donate to her fund instead. 

A 7-year-old Arabella at Healesville Sanctuary.

Now at $3,500, she wondered if she would make it but was determined to go on. Her school helped her raise $500 in 2022 through the Junior School Council running a whole week of activities for possum week. With just over $1,000 left to raise, we did another push on her 9th birthday, with some very generous donations from friends and family, some of whom had donated three to support her cause.  

Just after her 9th birthday in January 2023, she hit the $5,000 mark and proudly donated the money to Zoo's Victoria Leadbeater Possum program!

We were invited on a VIP visit to Healesville Sanctuary to meet the Leadbeater Possums zookeepers and have some wonderful up-close wildlife encounters.

Arabella is now one of Zoo's Victoria's youngest Conservation Partners. She is very proud of her achievement and grateful to all of those who supported her.

Zookeeper Amy and Arabella in January 2023

ABOUT LEADBEATER'S POSSUMS

Once thought to be extinct, the Leadbeater's Possum was rediscovered in 1961. It is now the animal emblem of Victoria. It is critically endangered with the last lowland population in the North East having fewer than 40 possums. They are at very high risk of extinction.

Also known as Fairy Possums, they are small and speedy, sleeping in hollow trees during the day and feeding on insects and sweet nectar at night.

The loss of hollow-bearing trees is the possums' most significant threat. Hollows can take 150 years to develop in living trees, and old trees with suitable hollows have decreased due to logging and bushfires. The animal's vulnerability to fire makes climate change a severe danger.

The Leadbeater's Possum is a priority for Zoos Victoria, with Healesville Sanctuary the only institution in the world housing Leadbeater's Possums in captivity and running a breeding program to save them.