Baby Brush Tailed possum rescued from storm

Baby Brush Tailed possum rescued from storm

#Taronga Western Plains Zoo Dubbo

Posted on 10th February 2016 by Media Relations

Taronga Western Plains Zoo’s Wildlife Hospital is currently caring for a baby Brush-tailed Possum. A member of the community rescued the small marsupial after he fell from a tree during a storm and suffered a head wound. Veterinary staff did  blood tests and x rays to assess the injury before prescribing a course of antibiotics for his recovery.  


 “ We estimate that he is about four months old, due to his size and the amount of fur he has,” said Vet nurse, Katrina Curtis.


Katrina has been hand-rearing the possum since he came to the Wildlife Hospital on the 14th January 2016.  Katrina has named the baby possum Ash due to his smokey fur colour.  At the moment Ash needs round the clock feeding with a special marsupial milk mix every four hours. “ He often guzzles his milk quota of 10 millilitres and is looking for more food and  afterwards he likes some softened sweet potato,” said Katrina.


It is expected that Ash will remain in the care of the Wildlife Hospital until he weighs about 1kg. The joey currently weighs about 215grams. Katrina said this will probably take 4- 5 months to reach this weight.  Taronga Western Plains Zoo cares for hundreds of wildlife cases throughout the year with Vet staff often volunteering to hand-raise the animals in their free time.  It is all part of Taronga Western Plains Zoo’s commitment to the care and conservation of wild creatures.