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New Holland mouse rediscovered in part of Blue Mountains after two decades
In short:
Ecologists have found the threatened New Holland mouse in the Wollemi National Park for the first time in 20 years.
The tiny mammals were lured using tea strainers filled with peanut butter and oats.
What's next?
Results of a broader project tracking the ecological health of the Blue Mountains, which the surveys were part of, are expected later this year.
With the help of a tea strainer, peanut butter and oats, a tiny, rare native mouse has been rediscovered in part of the NSW Blue Mountains for the first time in two decades.
The threatened New Holland mouse was identified seven times across 40 survey sites in the north of Wollemi National Park.
The mammal, described as a "dumpling on legs", lives in isolated populations stretching from Tasmania to the Queensland border.
But NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service ecologist Vera Wong said the elusive species was difficult to track down.
"People have tried to look at them over the past couple of decades, but they haven't been found,"she said.
"The research to date has shown that it is declining across its range, and no-one has really known whether it was still existing in Wollemi National Park."
There were seven recordings of the tiny mouse in the national park. (Supplied: NSW NPWS)
When NPWS ecologists set up 40 survey sites across the protected area as part of a broader research project, Ms Wong said she was thrilled to find one of the country's smallest mammals sniffing at the food.
"For some reason, they love peanut butter and oats,"she said.
The ecologists hung tea strainers filled with the mixture low to the ground, alongside close-range cameras that captured and identified the animals.
The tiny mammal is a social species and shares burrows, which Ms Wong said could have protected it from the Black Summer bushfires.
"To find this little mouse in places where it did burn in those 2019/20 fires — we've also found it in places where it didn't burn — it's a really good indicator that this species has a resilience to fire in the landscape," she said.
The surveys are part of a broader research project which tracks the ecological health of the Blue Mountains. (Supplied: NSW NPWS)
"Also, amazingly, [they] can avoid being captured by feral predators like cats."
Presumed extinct
The recent discovery was the first time the mouse has been found in the Wollemi National Park since 2004.
The species was presumed extinct in NSW until it was found in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park in 1967.
After that time, Ms Wong said sightings of the species had been few and far between.
"There are very few records, and they tend to be one-offs," she said.
Vera Wong says scientists were not sure if the mice still existed in the Wollemi National Park. (Supplied: NSW NPWS)
"So for us to find seven records across our 40 sites in the north of Wollemi, it does tell us things about the species that we haven't really known for a long time.
"It's possible it could be a little more common, it could be a stronghold for the species — Wollemi National Park, but we don't know yet, this is just early research."
The surveys are part of a project which tracks the ecological health of the Blue Mountains, with results expected later this year.