Zane the Mountain Brushtail Possum
Zane the Mountain Brushtail Possum
Zane's mum was hit by a car in Pomona last week. Zane was thrown from the pouch by the impact of the accident and was found on the road by a passing motorist. They also found his mum but she must have died immediately. This 180g orphan was admitted to the Hospital in the early hours of the morning and placed straight into the humidicrib to be stabilised and kept warm. Dr Amber observed scratches on his belly and behind his head, obviously from where he skidded along the road. She also suspected fractures to his arm bones, so x-rays were taken. The results showed that both his ulnar and radius had suffered fractures so a tiny bandage was applied to fit and assist the healing process.
We see this all too often here at the Australian Wildlife Hospital ; young animals are left without parents to raise them because of the carelessness of drivers. Zane is now in care with Kia until his arm heals and he is fit enough to be released into the wild. If you know of possums or any native wildlife that live in your area, remember:
• They're primarily nocturnal so keep pets locked in at night time and drive slowly on the roads!
• Don't feed wild animals, let them feed themselves!
• Plant native trees in your garden
• If you see a marsupial that's injured, check the pouch for young and call the Australian Wildlife Hospital on 1300 369 652 for advice
Zane the Mountain Brushtail Possum
Patient update - Zane
Little Zane the Mountain Brushtail Possum is coming along very well. He has made a few landmark improvements during his last few months in care. Firstly, he has had the bandage and cast removed from his right arm. This now means that Zane has the full use of this arm and fingers ( with the help of some physiotherapy from his surrogate mum, Nurse Kia!).
Secondly, he has made a few develpoments in the eating and growing department! He is very good at drinking his milk bottle and has now started eating solid foods such as eucalyptus leaves. At his last weigh-in he weighed a whopping 350 grams. Of course being a marsupial this means he will grow very quickly in the first few months of his life. In the wild he would still be very dependent on his mother, and would just be starting to learn some social behaviours of Mountain Brushtail Possums. These possums are more social than their Common Brushtail Possum relatives, so the pairing up (or 'buddying') of hand-raised Mountain Brushtails is very important. Zane is currently on the market looking for a buddy to play with... Hopefully for his next update we will have some postive news on that front!
The face of nature reflects all of life's ups and downs.
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