RESTORING CORRIDORS

Recently landed: Restoring corridors

A good soft release site for the ringtail possums (Pseudocheirus peregrinus) in our care needs to be a connected site. Connected to shelter from the elements and predators, as they expand and feel their way from their former footing, ‘in care’, to wild and free, beyond. Somewhere they can rest, upon their release, and build both a drey and a family, down the line. Connected to a place where there is an adequate supply of water and food, in the form of healthy, diverse native vegetation, with a dense understorey (look for tasty juvenile leaves arranged opposite each other on the stem). Somewhere there is also not already an established family of ringtail possums (look for a low scat count, and infrequent sightings). And somewhere there is little chance of an encounter with predators, in particular domestic and feral cats, dogs, and the introduced Red fox (Vulpes Vulpes); the same rings true for humans and the injuries our actions, both direct and indirect, can cause.

Continuing reading on Marginalia.

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30th of June, 2024

Celeste, Linus, Lute, and Sylvie, in their outdoor enclosure and with their impressive winter coats becoming plusher by the day, will be the next quartet of ringtail possums to be released with Koala Clancy, come spring. But before this can happen, we head to the trailer to clean her up and wheel her down the hill, now that the previous four, Ernestine, Hen, Beryl, and Bernice, are no longer using the trailer, and have become a part of the Brisbane Ranges. Somewhere, they’ll be, deep and snug, living their best lives, eating Eucalyptus radiata by the leaf-load.

In the showers, cleaning up the trailer for the next group, is a brief, but important part of the cycle for us. We feel so fortunate to be able to work with Koala Clancy, and their members and volunteers, to make this happen for the possums.