As the days shorten and winter approaches, more cars are on the road at dusk, dawn and dark. Sadly, this means that many nocturnal animals become victims on our roads.
Possums are particularly at risk at this time of the year, and WIRES has been receiving a large number of calls about injured, deceased and orphaned possums. Yesterday there was a particularly sad case where a mother Ringtail and her little joey were both found dead on Richmond Hill road.
In the Northern Rivers region we predominantly have two types of possums.
The Ringtail possum (pictured) is a red-brown colour and has a long tail with a white tip. They are smaller in size than the Brushtail possum, which can be black to grey in colour.
As with all marsupials, it is very important to check any possum that is killed on the road. If it is female there may be joeys in her pouch or nearby if they were riding on her back. In many cases the joeys can be saved.
While Brushtail possums generally only have one baby at a time (very rarely they will have twins), the Ringtail possum is likely to have 2-4 babies at any time. So always look around in case there is another joey nearby. Call WIRES for advice on how to check a pouch and to arrange a rescue.
Most importantly, always drive carefully at dawn and dusk and slow down in areas with bushland around the roadsides. A possum, wallaby or any nocturnal marsupial life might just be able to be saved.
Photo credit: Sharon McGrigor
An all-volunteer organisation, WIRES relies heavily on the generosity of caring people for support. All donations $2 and over are tax deductible. Now is also a great time to join WIRES and start learning to be a wildlife rescuer. Our 24-hour hotline is for all rescue, advice or membership calls in the Northern Rivers – call 6628 1898 or go to http://wiresnr.org/Helping.html to find out how you can help.
