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...

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

World's rarest marsupial is fighting for survival - again Gilbert’s potoroo was thought extinct until rediscovered in 1994. It depends on underground fungi for food.

"Once scientists confirmed the species’ existence, they had to learn how to protect it. The potoroo relies almost entirely on underground fungi for food, a diet unlike that of any other marsupial in Australia."
🐹🐀🍄‍🟫 #GilbertsPotoroo #Australia #Conservation #Wildlife #Nature #Biology #AmazingCritters

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

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

30 yrs since rediscovering #GilbertsPotoroo in Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve, numbers have tripled. However, feral species, fire, and climate change remain ongoing threats for the world’s rarest marsupial. #CriticallyEndangered