Gilbert's potoroo

The wild population is estimated at well under 150 individuals, making it one of the rarest mammals on Earth. The species is classified as critically endangered by the IUCN and exists in only a handful of small populations in southwestern Australia.

The species was believed extinct for over 120 years until a population was rediscovered in 1994 at Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve near Albany, Western Australia. It had originally been described by the naturalist John Gould in 1841 from a specimen collected by John Gilbert.

Gilbert's potoroo is mycophagous, meaning its diet consists almost entirely of underground fungi, particularly truffles that it digs up with its forepaws. This specialized diet makes the species extremely difficult to relocate, as suitable fungal habitat is rare and limited.

It is found only in a few isolated areas of dense, long-unburnt shrubland in southwestern Western Australia. Conservation breeding and translocation programs have attempted to establish additional populations at sites like Waychinicup National Park to reduce the risk of a single wildfire wiping out the species.