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Common Brushtail Possum (mother & joey 2011)
Trichosurus vulpecula
-27.5085, 153.018
Field Notes
Description:
The Common Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus vulpecula, from the Greek for "furry tailed" and the Latin for "little fox", previously in the genus Phalangista) is a nocturnal, semi-arboreal marsupial of the family Phalangeridae, it is native to Australia, and the largest of the possums.
Like most possums, the Common Brushtail Possum is nocturnal. It is mainly a folivore, but has been known to eat small mammals such as rats. In most Australian habitats, leaves of eucalyptus are a significant part of the diet but rarely the sole item eaten. The tail is prehensile and naked on its lower underside. There are four colour variations: silver-grey, brown, black and gold.
It is the Australian marsupial most often seen by city-dwellers, as it is one of few that thrive in cities, as well as a wide range of natural and human-modified environments. Around human habitations, Common Brushtails are inventive and determined foragers with a liking for fruit trees, vegetable gardens, and kitchen raids.
Habitat:
Brushtail Possums have proven highly adaptable to urban environments using trees, wildlife corridors, natural gullies, roofs and wall cavities, often moving via telegraph poles, cabling and fences for travelling and foraging. Cities and towns provide abundant warm, dry shelters, lots of available food plants from manufactured gardens and opportunity to scavenge from litter and rubbish bins. Hand feeding by residents and leaving domestic pet-food outside can also assist possums. Densities are much higher now due to high availability of food and suitable refugia.
Notes:
In every Australian city and town you will find the ubiquitous Brushtail Possum, and it is one of the most recognised of all Australian marsupials. Some are as large as domestic cats and are not to be toyed with. Here is a mother with her young poised on my roof. It was only by chance that I looked up, and there they were no more than 2 feet above my head. The baby was running around the roof and had a great fascination with something in the roof guttering, and then it would jump on its mother's back. It did this numerous times. Neither of them seemed too concerned with my presence. Be warned - Brushtail Possums may look cute and cuddly but they are far from it! They possess very sharp teeth and claws, can be fast-moving and are very strong, particularly the males. My cat Leo (RIP) found that out the hard way, and he was a large dominant male. Deep lacerations and scratches, chipped bone fragments on both back legs, two leg splints for a fortnight and over AUD1000.00 in vet bills! Needless to say, possums are now off my Christmas card list!
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