Miraculous little pygmy possum is discovered on Kangaroo Island after fears bushfires destroying half the land had wiped them out

A tiny pygmy possum has been discovered on Kangaroo Island, despite wildlife experts fearing they had been wiped out during last summer's bushfires. 

The 2019/20 bushfires savaged the South Australian island in January, destroying huge swathes of Flinders National Park.

Conservation group Kangaroo Island Land for Wildlife spotted the diminutive pygmy, with leading fauna ecologist Pat Hodgens said the discovery was 'unexpected' and 'very exciting.'

The tiny pygmy possums (pictured, the one found on Kangaroo Island) usually weigh just seven grams, making sightings rare

The bushfires on Kangaroo Island (pictured on January 10) were savage, with countless numbers of livestock, precious habitat and wildlife perishing 

'There's only really been 113 formal records of the species ever on Kangaroo Island,' he told the ABC.

'So certainly not very common and, obviously, the summer bushfires burnt through much of that habitat that species had, but we were hopeful that we would find them again.'

The pygmy possum, or Cercartetus lepidus, typically weigh just seven grams, making sightings rare.

Commonly known as the world's smallest possum, they are found in parts of Tasmania, mainland South Australia and Victoria as well as on Kangaroo Island. 

In the bushfires which began on December 20 last year, two people died and almost 90 homes were destroyed. A significant amount of wildlife also perished on the Island. 

The bushfire looked to be contained, only for lightning strikes to again hit the Island on December 30, 2019 - this time resulting in evacuations from the Island. 

There were fears the pygmy possum species (pictured right with a western pygmy possum on the left) had perished on Kangaroo Island following savage bushfires in January this year

By the time the fire was officially declared contained on January 21, an estimated 211,000 hectares had felt the effects of the blaze. 

The western end of Kangaroo Island, the nearby Ravine des Casoars Wilderness Protection area and the Kelly Hill Conservation Park wore the brunt of the damage.

Aside from the remarkable discovery of the pygmy possum, other wildlife species were also located recently, including a bibrons toadlet, a southern brown bandicoot and a tammar wallaby.

There are also hopes the native swamp rat will soon also be spotted. 

Following the bush fires at Kangaroo Island (pictured above), wildlife experts feared pygmy possums had become extinct as a species

Kangaroo Island (pictured above) is renowned as one of the world's great nature-based destinations