Common Brushtail Possum

In my AUGUST NEWS post I told you about an animal which we could not identify when we visited Wilsons Promontory:

I had to satisfy my curiosity, so I asked a Ranger from "Parks Victoria" (the Victorian Government body that manage our National Parks) to identify this animal.  This is their official response:

"It looks very much to me like a typical Wilsons Prom Common Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus vulpecula).

Common Brushtail possums are 'very common' and elsewhere in the state have silver to grey / dark fur on the back and white to pale grey or copper on the belly.

There is a distinctively black / chocolate brown furred form on the Prom, perhaps descended from dark-furred individuals introduced to the park back in 1913-14.

These black possums are sometimes confused with 'Mountain Brushtail Possums (Trichosurus caninus) which do not exist within the park."

The possum is a marsupial.  Most of the 140 species of marsupials in Australia are found nowhere else in the world; some of them are also found in New Guinea which was connected to Australia in more recent geological times.  The possum is usually nocturnal, so it was unusual for us to see this possum during the day.  Interestingly, some websites state that the brushtail possum is no longer "common".  Here is another common brushtail, this one is dark grey with a copper belly:

For our overseas followers, here are a few links on Wilsons Promontory, affectionately known as "The Prom":

Parks Victoria official website: http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/1park_display.cfm?park=217

This is another link where you can find out more about the recent fires at the Prom and view photos showing how the park looks now and how the Australian bush recovers after a bushfire:
http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/3promfire.cfm

Jos has promised to do a post soon - maybe in Dutch - so stay tuned!

Jo