Sharing with Possums

Living with wildlife in city and country

Coppery Brushtail Possum, Atherton Tablelands, Far North Queensland. © Bronwen Scott.

Possums have a mixed reputation. I love ’em, even when they run across the roof in the middle of the night sounding like Santa and all his reindeer. When it comes to the fruit trees, they tag team with the Sulphur-crested Cockatoos. The birds tuck in during the day; the possums take over after dark. Between them, they manage to get almost everything.

Despite the challenges of urban areas — people, dogs, cats, cars, pollution and the rest — possums persist among the jammed-together housing and constant traffic. When their trees are cut down, they move into roofs and garages. When their trees are cut down, they turn to gardens and bird feeders.

I wrote about city possums in the Guardian. If you’d like to read the article, you can find it at the link. (No paywall.)

'I feel privileged to have them': why you should befriend a resident possum

It’s about possums. But it’s also about all the wildlife we displace and which then try to make the best they can of their new surroundings.