'Forest Fairy' Joins as 7,000th Animal in National Geographic's Photo Ark
Transcript
This is a critically endangered Leadbeater’s possum.
It is the 7,000 species to have its portrait taken by Joel Sartore as part of National Geographic’s Photo Ark project.
Photo Ark is a multiyear effort to document every species living in wildlife sanctuaries.
This particular marsupial resides at the Healesville Sanctuary in Australia.
Leadbeater’s possums are known as “forest fairies”…
they nest in tree hollows and roam the forest at night.
Timber harvesting and forest fires have destroyed their habitat …
leading to dramatic population decline in the past decade.