A very rare Golden Brushtailed Possum was born here in Australia at Wild Life Sydney.
For those that are not familiar with possums, here in Australia we have a very common brushtail possum that is seen everywhere, they are native to Australia, and they are nocturnal, and like the koala they also like the eucalyptus leaves, as part of their diet, but their main food is fruits, seeds, flowers and shoots, they have been known to eat small animals as well.
Common brushtail possums (Image via Wikipedia)
The possums are often seen in city areas, in fact they will thrive in the cities, they raid vegetable gardens, fruit trees, and on occasion will raid the kitchen.
They are very hard to also get out of your roof once they have decided it is home (I speak from experience here. 🙂 )
Now that you know all about the common possum, let me introduce to you Australia’s rarest possum, this little cutie is 6 months old and his name is Bailey.
Bailey the baby Golden Brushtail Possum is the newest attraction at WILD LIFE Sydney. Picture: The Courier Mail
The six-month old possum was introduced to the public today.
Picture: The Courier Mail
Bailey is a Golden Brushtail Possum, and Bailey’s parents arrived at Wild Life Sydney about 4 years ago and have given birth to 3 possums. If you ever see one in the wild count yourself very lucky, they are very rare indeed in the wild.
There is a small article about Bailey in The Courier Mail
The Golden Brushtail Possum has of course been breed in other wildlife parks around Australia, and I found a video that was taken last year at Maru Koala Park in Victoria. Meet Honey. 🙂
Oh dear Mags, they are so lovely…. and they like eucalyptus leaves… I imagined… beautiful. Thank you, have a nice day, with my love, nia
Hi Nia,
They are, and yes they like eucalyptus leaves, but do prefer fruits. 🙂
I found a Golden brush tailed possum yesturday it was curled up next to my front door. Never have i seen anything this cute in my life. I rand Victorian wildlife and they sent out a wonderful person to take it to the vets. All good they dropped it back last night and now lives in the trees behind us.
Hi Alex,
Wow, that is really fantastic, they are so rare, how lucky you are to have one now living happily in the trees right behind you. 😀
Thank You very much for sharing your story with me and other readers, and Thank You very much for taking the time to comment and visiting my blog.
OMG, this thing is cute. I want to have one as a pet!
Hi sporepigfish,
I agree, it would be lovely to have as a pet. 😀
It’s illegal to keep native animals in Australia as pets. Possums, however, are well known for adopting humans. I had one take up residence in my roof when I lived in the Melbourne suburb of Wattle Park, and you wouldn’t believe how much noise it made. Imagine a wrestler clomping around over your head in hobnailed boots at 3am… and if your new tenant brings a friend along, why, you can listen to them fighting!
Bailey is a very cute little critter to be sure, but he’d soon wear out his welcome. I have a few geckos living in my house and they’re much better behaved.
Hi Greg,
That it is. 🙂
I know how bad it is when a possum gets in the roof, it drives you crazy, luckily it only happened the once, but once was more than enough. 😀
Golden possums cannot survive in the wild so this makes them even better. 🙂
Bailey is so sweet! I hope he will have a nice life protected at the wild life sanctuary…
Hi Barbara,
Oh yes he will be in the best of care, and no doubt live to a ripe old age thinking how wonderful life it. 😀
Fabulous post – great pictures.
Hi dfb,
I’m glad you enjoyed the post. 😀
Oh my goodness! Little Bailey is precious! I’m glad that she’ll be protected with her family. We have possums here but they aren’t anywhere near as cute. In fact they’re pretty ugly, gray with long tails. They sort of look like giant rats. But I suppose they’re good natured for the most part. They come out at night and get into everyone’s gardens and garbage. They’re not as pesky as the Raccoons, though.
Hi A Gripping Life,
Yes possums have a habit of getting into things that they shouldn’t, and they can make a mess. 🙂
This is so GREAT! Thank you!!!
Hi Pam,
I’m glad you enjoyed the post about little Bailey. 😀
I think they give new meaning to the word ugly! Hahaha! Naw, she’s cute!
Hi susielindau,
Definitely cute. 😀
Oh my gosh, Bailey looks ADORABLE!
Hi Laurie,
Very adorable. 😀
Hi Mags!!
I have nominated you for the Hope Unites Globally (HUG) Award. If you choose to accept this award, here are the guidelines: http://ahopefortoday.com/2012/01/14/hope-unites-globally-hug-award-guidelines/ Thank you for making the world a better place with your writing and view of the world you share it with all.
Hi Lyn,
Thank You very much for thinking of me that is wonderful. 😀
It’s always a pleasure.There should be more people like you and less corrupts politicians..for example..:)
Cheers!!
Ours here in the states are not nearly so gentle of appearance… In fact, ours more closely resemble RATS. This is is lovely!!! ~ Lynda
Hi Lynda,
Yes it seems our native possums are a bit of a different breed than other possums in different countries. 😀
Ooohhh… little Bailey — I just want to hug him!
I knew some about possum in Australia, but not that it was that bad.. 🙂
Hi Rebekah,
Bailey is certainly one cute possum. 😀
Oh yes the standard native possums here can make a mess if you have a veggie garden or fruit trees around.
Saying that, there are a lot of people that feed wild possums and encourage them to come around they love them. 🙂
Same thing with the deer here. People get very upset when they eat all their flowers ‘n stuff in the gardens, but other people feed them. The ones I’ve been taking photos of, from our balcony, have more or less moved in. The come every afternoon to lie down and have a rest 🙂
I find it fascinating that you have deer coming on your property they are just so gorgeous, but I can certainly see how they would also be a bit of a nuisance to some. 🙂
Cute!
What do they taste like?
*hiding*
Hi gitwizard,
Very cute indeed. 🙂
Hiding is a good idea. 😀
Very precious and cute indeed :-).
Hi Windsmoke,
He certainly is. 😀
I never thought I’d see the day that I thought a possum was cute. As other bloggers answered, here they look like rats with long tails. Bailey is a cutie, but so are most baby anythings.
An animal that ruins my gardens is no friend of mine, cute or not!
Ronnie
Hi Ronnie,
Oh yes they can be a pain to people with gardens that is for sure, and of course you are right all baby animals are cute, but this one is a bit different, you will never see a golden possum in any garden, they cannot survive in the wild, this is what makes them so rare. 😀
Awwww! So cute! I had to show my daughter. She wants one as a pet and says that it would need a huge hamster ball to roll around in. It’s hard not to love that little cutie, but then again, I even love our “rats with long tails” possums here. I think they’re cute and I’m quite fond of them. 🙂
Hi ariadnesdaughter,
I’m glad your daughter loved the photo’s, and I agree with her, it would be lovely to have as a pet, especially rolling around in a hamster ball. 😀
Your possums are so much cuter than the ones we have here in the States. Ours are plain grey and white with sharp pointy noses. But even their babies are adorable. Interesting creatures to be sure.
Thanks to you I now want to adopt the possums in our roof instead of eradicating them – hehe! (That is if they are possums). I’d never heard of the golden variety!
Hi jmgoyder,
There are people that do have them as sort of pets, they are free to come and go but they put different fruits out for them. When they are not in the roof, they like to live in hollowed out logs, which some people put up in the tree with a bit of fruit.
I don’t know this person personally, but I have heard of a lady that has been doing this for years, and possums let her pat them, and even hold their babies. 😀
I’ve never seen one in the wild but even seeing one in a photo is just as good. I can’t believe the colours. How gorgeous. I know what you mean about possums in the roof. I’ve had many experiences with that. We had common brushtail stuck in our chimney once. It got wedged there. The wailing was terrifying. At first we didn’t know what it was. My son who was about five at the time thought it was a ghost. We had to take most of the chimney apart to get it out.
Hi Selma,
The golden possum is gorgeous, they cannot survive in the wild, but there are still a few around through breeding at different Wildlife Parks, which I think is wonderful. 😀
I can understand your son thinking it was a ghost, the noise must of been terrible. 🙂
Cute! I did see possums when I was in Melbourne. There were hanging out in a park near our hotel.
Hi Fergiemoto,
That’s great, there are a lot of the common bushtail possums around, they really are a very nice looking animal, a bit different than the one’s o/seas as you seen. It was nice that you were staying somewhere close to a park, you would of most likely have seen a few native birds etc. 😀
Now you have seen the rarest of the possum family as well. 🙂
Precious! In the picture where that woman is holding him, the little golden guy looks as docile as a cat. 🙂 I checked out Wild Life Sydney — looks amazing! If we were ever in Australia, I know my family would love that place.
Hi happykidshappymom,
Wild Life Sydney is amazing they do wonderful work for all the animals, the people there are really great, and they do whatever than can to help animals out. 🙂
Congrats on showing me my first-ever non-Northern American Possum … the little one is a cutie.
Hi aFrankAngle,
They are a little bit different, and I’m happy to introduce you do the Aussie possum. 😀
That’s very cute!
Is it me, or do the heads look a bit small for the bodies?
Hi El Guapo,
No you are right, compared to the weight of the body, the heads are a bit smaller, they can actually flatten out to squeeze into the smallest of places. 🙂
What a cute little adorable possum! You always find the most interesting news and stories Mags! 🙂 I learn new things from you! Thank you!
-Adri
Hi Adri,
They are very cute, it is a shame the golden possum can’t survive in the wild, they are so pretty. 🙂
Hi Mags,
Really cute. I know about koala, but for the first time I came across something called Possum. A really cute possum for sure. It’s just looking like the Indian Rat, but much bigger than those rats. 🙂
Hi Arindam,
The possums fur is very soft to touch, they are a lovely animal. 🙂
utterly adorable! We once had a polecat move into our attic – equally lovely creature but very noisy! Great blog post. Made me smile.
Hi mariathermann,
Oh yes anything that gets into the ceiling is noisy, and can drive you crazy if you are trying to sleep. 😀
You forgot to mention they love dancing all night on your ceiling, mating at 4am and stinking up your roof cavity with droppings…
Hi tempo,
Oh yes they can be a problem for some (that includes me of course), but they are a beautiful animal non the less, and as I mentioned earlier the golden possum will never be a pest because they are not in the wild or suburbia. 🙂
Nothing like a good old Aussie blog
Good one mate
Emu
Hi The Emu,
Glad you enjoyed the story of the golden possum. 😀
Wonderful photos and writing, Mags. There are so many amazing animals in the world, and always more to learn about. Thank you.
Very nice, 🙂
LG
Lucian
Hi Lucian,
Thank You, I’m glad you enjoyed the post. 😀
Possums and koalas – such exotic creatures to us here in Canada!
Hi Margie,
It’s is wonderful though that there are so many different animals around the world. 🙂
I like all kind of Possums, but Bailey is such a beauty 😀
Hi wolke205,
He is gorgeous isn’t he, the beautiful colour so rare for a possum. 🙂
How adorable. Bailey is a beauty that for sure. 🙂
Hi E.C.
They are a gorgeous animal, such beautiful colouring, it is a shame these golden possums are so rare.
I’d never heard of a golden possum before. I had an encounter with a tame ring-tailed possum when I was a child. My great-uncle’s housekeeper’s daughter had raised one because its mother had died in a trap and the baby was still clinging to her. He was called Peter because he loved Peter’s Ice-Cream. My father was in his Super-8 phase of Visual Arts at the time so of course had to film it. We had film of it eating a banana in the daughter’s hair, then he wanted me to take it. So we put a thick towel folded many times onto my arm and the possum used it like a tree branch. You could push him off and he would hang by his tail, then climb up his tail and back onto the towel. However, those claws went through all the layers of towel and I could be seen silently (there was no sound) “ow”-ing and “ouch”-ing through the whole thing. Very funny now but not at the time.
Hi Lady Marilyn,
Oh yes the claws are very sharp, but still what a wonderful experience. 🙂
Absolutely adorable!!! Much cuter than the gray possums we have here.
I want one!! Look at those beady eyes!
Hi Lenore,
I also would love to have one of these gorgeous possums. 😀
They are so cute, Thanks for the infos, very interesting. 🙂
Hi Francis,
I’m glad you enjoyed reading about the golden possum. 😀
Those are too cute!
Hi Michael,
Indeed cute is spot on, it’s a shame the golden possum is so rare. 😀
A gorgeous little fellow. So happy I could watch!
Hi Linda,
He is very gorgeous, and a beautiful colour as well. 😀
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They are not as rear as you think and can survive in the wild.
Hi Graham,
Yes another person that commented also said there was one living in a tree at the back of their place, I think it’s great that there are obviously a few around, they are a beautiful animal.
Thank You very much for visiting and taking the time to comment.