Interesting Stories
Possum Magic
Meet Kili. Kili is a beautiful ringtail possum that was found as an orphaned baby being attacked by
magpies after falling from a tree. She was found in a poor condition by a passer by that very kindly
picked her up and brought her into the vets.
On examination at the hospital Kili was found to be in a poor state. She was very young, about 4
months old weighing in at only 142gms. She was dehydrated, weak and very cold. She also had an
injury on her face that was preventing her from opening her eye. We were unsure at this point
whether she would make it through the day.
She was administered antibiotics, sub-cutaneous fluids
and was placed in a beanie on a warm heat-pack in an effort to bring up her body temperature. Later
on that afternoon she looked brighter and we could see that she was improving so we offered her
some milk which she drank happily.
After a few more days in hospital Kili’s condition had improved so much that she was ready to be discharged. We had revisited where Kili had been found but there was no sign of her mother or even a possum nest in the vicinity. We knew at this point that Kili would have to be given out to a carer for some long term care and love until she was old enough to be integrated back into her natural environment.
We see a lot of wildlife come and go in our hospital and we are lucky enough to work with some
outstanding carers that help rehabilitate our patients and get them ready for release. Kili was lucky
enough to find a family that had fostered many ringtail possums before her and that live on a
beautiful bush block with the perfect environment for Kili to integrate into.
Initially when Kili went to her new home she required a lot of attention. She was having 8 milk feeds
a day, after which she would need to be toileted. She had to be administered antibiotics twice a day
and also have eye ointment applied 4 times daily. With all the love, care and cuddles that she
received she continued to grow and become stronger. Her facial injury healed up well and she
regained full vision in the effected eye.
After about 6 weeks she was given a final examination by the vet and given a clean bill of health. She was a healthy weight for her age, she was very active and she was bright and very much thriving in her foster environment.
Kili ate well and gradually transitioned from 8 feeds a day to 2 milk feeds a day. She began to eat
solids and loved a healthy assortment of bottle brush, grevilia and various fruits as a treat.
Kili now continues to grow and is getting closer and closer to being an independent free reign possum. She spends her days inside in her custom built possum run and at night she goes out and explores the vast canopy of gum trees that surround the property.
She even has two or three possum friends that she likes to interact with. Her rehabilitation is complete and it is only a matter of time before she takes it upon herself to ‘fly the coup’. She will be sadly missed by her foster family but no doubt she will come and visit, especially when there are so yummy treats on offer!
