A photograph on a blue background of Tony Friend, Research Associate at DBCA/WA Parks & Wildlife holding a Gilbert’s Potoroo in the middle of the image. Above the photograph in white writing is the information about the event contained in the post with the addition of Tea/coffee available for a gold coin donation. Underneath the photograph is a banner with the logos of the Australian Government, South Coast NRM, Museum of the Great Southern, Gilbert’s Potoroo Action Group & Dept of Biodiversity, Conservation & Attractions and text acknowledging funding.

**UPCOMING FREE EVENT**
Hope you can join us for this terrific talk by Dr Tony Friend about recovery of #gilbertspotoroo at #TwoPeoplesBay after the catastrophic 2015 fire
When: May 12, 10:00am for start at 10:30am sharp
Where: WA Museum (Great Southern) Co-op Building, Albany WA

‘My head feels clearer’: how citizen science can improve people’s health Citizen science offers people something simple but powerful: a reason to step outside, pay attention, and reconnect with the living world around them.

#citizenscience has so many benefits (physical & mental) for participants & for scientific research. It helps build scientific literacy in the community & can expand the scope of data collection while giving people a sense of achievement #WorldHealthDay #citsci theconversation.com/my-head-feel...

The original lithograph and description of Gilbert’s Potoroo ‘Hypsiprymnus gilberti’ in Gould’s Mammals of Australia. Source: Biodiversity Heritage Library Australia.

The original description of Gilbert’s Rat-Kangaroo (Potoroo) in Gould’s Mammals of Australia 1863..

Gilbert’s Potoroo photograph. Copyright Dick Walker/GPAG

Black Rat photograph. Copyright Jiri Lochman

Do you think #GilbertsPotoroo looks like a rat? People sometimes send us photos of Black Rats wondering if they are Gilbert’s Potoroo or see pictures & say “Yuck, it looks like a rat”. And Potoroos & Bettongs are sometimes known as Rat-Kangaroos… #WorldRatDay #NotARat
@bhl-au.bsky.social

Cover of One Potoroo: A Story of Survival by Penny Jaye, illustrated by Alicia Rogerson showing a Gilbert’s Potoroo emerging from a handling bag surrounded by flowers.

Cover of The Spectacular Spencer Gray by Deb Fitzpatrick showing a boy riding his bicycle through the bush at night with a Gilbert’s Potoroo’s head poking out of his backpack.

Today is #childrensbookday & to celebrate we’re highlighting 2 of our favourite #GilbertsPotoroo themed books. It’s so exciting to see Gilbert’s Potoroo increasingly making it into kids literature & the stories being nominated for awards &/or featuring in teaching notes etc #conservationeducation

Interestingly GPAG’s 2019 WA State NRM grant on #GilbertsPotoroo genetics in collab w/ DBCA found that despite the tiny popn (~120) genetic diversity is similar to Long-nosed Potoroos (popn ~75,000!!). Results presented at GPAG’s 2024 South Coast TS Forum library.dbca.wa.gov.au/FullTextFile...

Love this journal Frontiers for Young Minds that publishes articles by scientists for kids, peer reviewed by kids. Such a great way to build science literacy in the next generation.
Check out this Quah et al article kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.... on genetics & threatened sp reintroductions 1/

A female Gilbert’s Potoroo being followed by her subadult joey. #InternationalWomensDay Photo by Jiri Lochman

Happy #InternationalWomensDay & thank you to all the amazing women - especially our GPAG volunteers - who have worked for decades trying to help save #GilbertsPotoroo.
And to the female Potoroos literally carrying the species forward ❤️.
📷 by Jiri Lochman

On #WorldWildlifeDay we’re celebrating the survival of #GilbertsPotoroo, a beautiful little #LazarusSpecies rediscovered in 1994 after being thought extinct since 1909. There are only ~120-130 left. You can help by joining GPAG or donating via our website www.potoroo.org #CriticallyEndangered

A pile of pistachio nuts showing their green and purple colours. Photo by by Joanna Kosinska on Unsplash https://unsplash.com/@joannakosinska

Did you know the secret ingredient in the peanut butter & oatmeal bait used to entice the #criticallyendangered #GilbertsPotoroo into a cage trap is pistachio nut oil? Apparently its sweet smell is like the scent of the truffle-like fungi that make up over 90% of the Potoroo's diet #PistachioDay

On this #LoveYourPetDay this research is a great reminder to keep kitty safe, happy and contained to prolong their life while also prolonging the lives of native wildlife! Win-Win 😍

Photo of Gilbert’s Potoroo by Jiri Lochman sitting upright on a log, looking to its right. The photo is surrounded by a black frame with the words Happy New Year 2026 in white text above the photo.

Happy New Year to all our members, volunteers, donors, supporters, social media followers & general #GilbertsPotoroo lovers! Thank you all for your help & support for GPAG & Gilbert’s Potoroo in 2025 & wishing you all a happy & healthy year in 2026.
With all best wishes from the GPAG Team

Chapter 3: What’s the Big Deal?
Why save a small fungi eater? With a diet of >90% native truffles, #GilbertsPotoroo is one of the 2 most fungi-dependent mammals in the world. Its digging helps aerate soil, improves water penetration & it spreads fungi spores that are critical for vegetation health.

Incredibly privileged to have been part of the #GilbertsPotoroo journey almost since the beginning (April 1996) and to be sharing my life with @lwhisson.bsky.social who actually was there on “rediscovery day”. #LostAndFound #LazarusSpecies #CriticallyEndangered #ThreatenedSpecies

Chapter 2: Lost for 100 yrs then found
#GilbertsPotoroo was rediscovered at #TwoPeoplesBay on Dec 1st 1994, having last been recorded in the 1870s & thought extinct since 1909. Much has happened in the past nearly 31 years, a lot of ups & downs & hard work by many people, but it’s still hanging on

File:GilbertsPotoroo.JPG - Wikimedia Commons

You mean an open access one? The only one I know of is from Wikimedia Commons commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gi.... I’m not sure which Two Peoples Bay one you are referring to although I have seen images labelled Two Peoples Bay that are actually Long-footed Potoroos (& not from Two Peoples Bay)!

What an incredibly sad but important awareness raising project 💔. Just wondering which 📷 of Gilbert’s Potoroo you’ve used? I can’t tell from the image but there’s only 1 open access photo labelled Gilbert’s Potoroo that actually IS one. Happy to provide an accurate 📷 for such an important project.

The Rarest Marsupial in the World. Fewer than 130 remain!⠀

Gilbert's Potoroo is the rarest marsupial on the planet, surviving only in a hidden corner of Western Australia. This is their story.⠀

Follow the journey each week as we release a new chapter.⠀

@gilbertspotoroo.bsky.social

In honour of #ThreatenedSpeciesDay we’re delighted to share both our first post on BlueSky & the first of a series of videos that together tell the story of the beautiful & #criticallyendangered #GilbertsPotoroo.
Please follow along to see a new chapter each week 😊
#threatenedspecies #lostandfound