Not the photo I wanted - Ringtail Possum
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (382273)
Rockingham, Australia
September 12, 2016 2:35am CST
I saw two crows pecking at a small, dark bundle on the gravel road that leads down from the house. When I investigated I found a small, dead ring-tail possum, one of Australia's little marsupials. Apart from a couple of pecks, it didn't seem to have any injuries and I can only assume it fell out of a tree. Occasionally at night we see a possum in one of the trees nearby.
In this area we have western ringtail possums and brushtail possums. The former are confined to south-west Western Australia although there is another subspecies in the east of the country. As you can see, they have dark grey-brown fur with creamy patches behind the ears and on the belly. You can see the white tip on the prehensile tail.They grow to the size of a large cat and are arboreal and nocturnal.
Their diet consists of leaves, flowers, buds and fruit. Peppermint trees are their favourite food along with jarrah and marri, both of which grow here. I am pleased to have my own photo of one but am sad that this little fellow died somehow. We buried him in the garden so the crows will have to find something else to eat.
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17 responses

@crazyhorseladycx (39503)
• United States
12 Sep 16
aw, the poor lil critter :( i'm glad y'all gave 't a proper burial, although that's jest part 'f mother nature - that when somethin' perishes, others 're there to 'clean 'p'. what a cute lil fella. looks much diff'rent from the possums i grew 'p with.
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@sueznewz2 (10409)
• Alicante, Spain
13 Sep 16
Poor little chap...he is cute looking..., i'm glad you buried him .., I know its the cycle of life n all that..but i'm sure the crows would've found something else to feed on...
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@Happy2BeMe (99353)
• Canada
12 Sep 16
I am glad that you buried him rather then allow the crows to pick away at him. This is a very interesting post. I knew very little about possums before I read this. I didn't realize that there were two varieties either. I have never seen a real one just pictures.
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@Happy2BeMe (99353)
• Canada
12 Sep 16
@JudyEv What a cute little face he has! :)
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@JudyEv (382273)
• Rockingham, Australia
12 Sep 16
@Happy2BeMe They are much prettier than an opossum, aren't they?
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@Hatley (163772)
• Garden Grove, California
3 Nov 16
He reminds me oif grandpa possum that came dfown from the tusyin hills to take the lidc of my garbage pail and dine on the scraps. I got so I just put a papeplate of scrap out
for the old fellow so He would not wake us up at midnight knockiong the lid off our garbager pai. now in mo longet there I mioss the old fellow. Je let me wtch him eat for a good ten minites withoug running off I wa surehe was a grjnandpa possum
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@JudyEv (382273)
• Rockingham, Australia
3 Nov 16
What a good idea to put out scraps for him to eat. Much better for everyone concerned.

@JudyEv (382273)
• Rockingham, Australia
12 Sep 16
Maybe he will help push up some butternut pumpkins in the summer. :)

@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
13 Sep 16
it looks cuddly and harmless, like a sleeping stuffed toy.
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@epiffanie (11327)
• Australia
12 Sep 16
oh poor little possum ! .. last spring we had a possum nest on one of the trees in the backyard .. the mama possum and the baby were so cute!
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@epiffanie (11327)
• Australia
15 Sep 16
@JudyEv they din't look anything like the one on your photo so they must be brushtail ..
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@JudyEv (382273)
• Rockingham, Australia
14 Sep 16
It is sad isn't it? I hope the parents have better luck with the next baby.
@acelawrites (19272)
• Philippines
12 Sep 16
It looks cute, but I don't like the tail; looks like an earthworm. Aren't they already endangered of extinction?
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@JudyEv (382273)
• Rockingham, Australia
2 Apr 18
The tail isn't the nicest tail I've ever seen. They are on the critically endangered list. If they appear in your area (or your roof) you're not allowed to get rid of them although they'd probably let you block them out of the roof space.
@nanette64 (20363)
• Fairfield, Texas
12 Sep 16
This one almost looks like a youngster @JudyEv . I was going to say that maybe it ate something poisonous but considering it eats buds and fruit, I would think it would know the difference between something good and bad. Poor thing.
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