Homeless and threatened eastern pygmy possums are among 29 species making a comeback after new dens were put up in a Cooma sanctuary recovering from bushfires.
Global charity International Fund for Animal Welfare partnered with Two Thumbs Wildlife Sanctuary after the 2020 Black Summer Bushfires destroyed the area, most of the surrounding wildlife (up to 90 per cent) and their homes.
Human-made dens were installed around the 724-hectare sanctuary on Ngarigo country at the beginning of the year and have become popular with native residents in less than six months, the charity said.
"With so many animals left homeless after the fires, it is encouraging to see these dens providing much-needed refuge for creatures great and small," the charity's wildlife campaigns manager Josey Sharrad said.
"And of the 29 native species that visited, about half are actually using the dens, so we're hoping this will help boost the repopulation of the sanctuary."
The structures, designed by Habitat Innovation and Management, replicate natural hollow logs that many animals lived in before the fires.
They blended into the surroundings after they were camouflaged with nearby rocks and sticks which also help to insulate the homes. There's also a special 'mezzanine' level built inside the dens for smaller animals to protect themselves from predators.
The structures add to 125 habitat nest boxes that have been installed for birds, gliders and microbats. The joint repopulation initiative also saw the construction of raptor platforms and the plantation of 2000 native grasses and trees.
Footage from camera traps pointed at the dens show visits from species like the blotched blue-tongue lizard, brown snake, jacky dragon, koala, common brushtail possum, common wombat, Cunningham's skink and dunnart*.
IFAW said the return of these species was "a strong sign" the Two Thumbs Wildlife Trust Sanctuary would again become a thriving wildlife haven.
Sanctuary owner James Fitzgerald said he was relieved because the risk of localised extinctions was no longer a lingering concern.
"It is heartening to see these dens providing a home and shelter for so many animals. These homes will enable many species to raise their young and rebuild population numbers after the bushfires," he said.
"Every day I see new life returning to the sanctuary which gives me hope for the future."
- * IFAW provided a full list of species seen at the dens: Antechinus, Australian magpie, Blotched Blue-tongue Lizard, Brown Snake, Chestnut-rumped Heathwren, Common Bronzewing, Common Brushtail Possum, Common Wombat, Cunningham's Skink, Dunnart, Eastern Blue-tongue Lizard, Eastern Grey Kangaroo, Eastern Pygmy Possum, European Rabbit, Feral Cat, Feral Deer, Feral Fox, Feral Goat, Feral Pig, Grey Shrikethrush, Jacky Dragon, Koala, Laughing Kookaburra, Pied Currawong, Red-bellied Black Snake, Red-necked Wallaby, Rodent sp., Short Beaked Echidna, Spotted Quail-thrush, Superb Lyrebird, Swamp Wallaby, Thornbill, Skink, White-browed Scrubwren, Willie Wagtail.
