Possum antics aplenty as spring heralds start of breeding season

A young student got quite a surprise this week when an unexpected furry visitor decided to hitch a ride on his walk back to class.

Lukas and his Year 1 mates at Nanango State School in Queensland were wandering back to their classroom after a Monday morning assembly when a baby possum decided he wanted to tag along.

The furry creature was patiently waiting outside as the students approached, and as soon as Lukas inched closer, the possum leapt at the chance to join them.

Footage of the adorable encounter shows the animal darting toward the six-year-old’s shoe before climbing up his leg and onto his chest.

To his credit, Lukas remained still and calm – except for a beaming grin – as the tiny passenger made itself comfortable.

It wasn’t long before his teacher, Sharon Haim, and his stunned classmates joined him.

According to a news.com.au report, Ms Haim told the news site Lukas is a “wildlife and Steve Irwin* lover” and that Lukas immediately cried, “A possum ran up my leg!”

BABY POSSUM FINDS MUM
After the teacher picked the possum off Lukas’ shoulder, she alerted another member of staff, who brought the animal to the school’s office. It was then wrapped in a towel, and wildlife carers from Aussie Native Rescue Inc. were alerted.

“The students (and staff) were very excited!” Ms Haim said.

“We kept the possum in the office, wrapped in a towel, while we waited.”

Help arrived about 20 minutes later, and the possum was soon safely reunited with its mum.

“The possum’s mum was in her usual area near the classroom, and when the wildlife carer was close enough, he released the baby, who ran straight to the mum and climbed on her back,” Ms Haim said.

Footage of the “amazing” moment has since racked up almost one million views and has been praised by Australians around the country.

Many commentators said Lukas was an “absolute legend.”

“What a little legend of a kid. He just let the possum do its thing, didn’t try and grab it or anything. Glad it got back to its mum,” one person wrote.

Ms Haim, who said she was shocked to see that the encounter had gone viral, also praised the six-year-old student.

“We are so proud of Lukas and how he handled the situation, and reading the comments on the video has been so nice – it’s lovely that Lukas, his parents and our school are being acknowledged,” she said.

THERMAL IMAGING USED TO CHECK ON COSY POSSUMS
Wild possums are not the only ones on the move, with the start of spring also prompting plenty of possum play at one Australian animal sanctuary in Victoria.

With winter now officially in the rear-view mirror, Healesville Sanctuary has shared hidden secrets of how they’ve been checking on critically endangered* mountain pygmy-possums who’ve spent months bundled up in torpor* in their cosy moss nests.

The mountain pygmy-possum is Australia’s only hibernating marsupial. Each year they sleep under the snow for up to seven months in Victoria’s alpine zone, while at the Sanctuary they live in a climate-controlled possum lodge.

Threatened species keeper Amie Hindson said this year she wanted to experiment with using thermal imaging* cameras to double check the temperatures of the possums. The technology has been providing glowing visuals.

“When in torpor (hibernation), mountain pygmy-possums can reduce their body temperature to two degrees Celsius. They curl their bodies into a little ball with their head tucked into their chest or abdomen. Sometimes, the females will tuck their little noses into their pouch,” Ms Hindson said.

Mountain pygmy-possums are the masters of weight management. Before going down for a long nap, they weigh approximately 80 grams, and when they wake up in spring, they are half their body weight at just 40 grams. That’s when breeding season begins and they start searching for endangered bogong moths to feast on and bulk up ahead of next season.

“We already do weekly weight checks of the possums, record their activity levels each day, and record how much food they are consuming over the hibernation period. But it was pretty cool to see the difference on the thermal camera between an awake and torporing possum,” Ms Hindson said.

The thermal cameras have allowed keepers to easily see where the possums are denning* without waking them up.

“Any additional monitoring of our nocturnal* species that we can do without extra disturbance is something that is really important for the wellbeing of those species in our care,” Ms Hindson said.

The mountain pygmy-possum is one of Zoos Victoria’s local threatened species that the sanctuary has been working to protect into the future. They are classified as critically endangered, with fewer than 2000 believed to be left in the wild.

Each spring, endangered bogong moths make an epic migration of up to 1000 km to Australia’s alpine zone.

The sanctuary said those wanting to help the vulnerable species should keep their eyes peeled for the bogong moths, which are a key spring food source for the possums. Bogong spotters can upload their snaps to the Moth Tracker* website to help scientists track their journey.

WATCH THE VIDEO OF THE HITCHING BABY POSSUM

WATCH THE VIDEO OF HEALESVILLE’S MOUNTAIN PYGMY-POSSUMS

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GLOSSARY

• Steve Irwin: an Australian wildlife conservationist and TV personality also known as the Crocodile Hunter, famous for his enthusiastic approach and his catch phrase ‘Crikey’. Steve Irwin was the father of Robert Irwin and Bindi Irwin
• critically endangered: facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild
• torpor: when an animal reduces its body temperature and metabolism to save energy
• thermal imaging: a technique that captures heat and turns it into a visible image
• denning: when animals seek out a small, protected and enclosed space to rest or hibernate
• nocturnal: being active at night rather than during the day
• Moth Tracker: a citizen science project run by Zoos Victoria that allows people to record sightings of bogong moths. Visit mothtracker.swifft.net.au/ to upload a photo of a bogong moth and record where you spotted it

EXTRA READING
Possum magic lands at Oz airport
Twelve tiny possum babies born
Can you help find our bogongs?

QUICK QUIZ
1. How did the actions of students and staff at Nanango State School help the baby possum reunite with its mother?
2. How do mountain pygmy-possums spend winter?
3. What is their preferred food source during spring?
4. In what way has thermal imaging helped Healesville keepers check on the mountain pygmy-possums?
5. Where can people record sightings of bogong moths?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Ask the possum!
Imagine that you could interview the little possum for a Kids News story. Write at least four questions that you would ask him about his adventure with Lukas. Write the answers that you think it would give.

Time: Spend at least 25 minutes on this activity
Curriculum Links: English

2. Extension
What do you think are some of the challenges we face in protecting small endangered animals like the mountain pygmy-possums? Write a list, using information from the story to help you.

Time: Spend at least 25 minutes on this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science

VCOP ACTIVITY
Read this!
A headline on an article – or a title on your text – should capture the attention of the audience, telling them to read this now. So choosing the perfect words for a headline or title is very important.

Create three new headlines for the events that took place in this article. Remember, what you write and how you write it will set the pace for the whole text, so make sure it matches.

Read out your headlines to a partner and discuss what the article will be about based on the headline you created. Discuss the tone and mood you set in just your few, short words. Does it do the article justice? Will it capture the audience’s attention the way you hoped? Would you want to read more?

Consider how a headline or title is similar to using short, sharp sentences throughout your text. They can be just as important as complex ones. Go through the last text you wrote and highlight any short, sharp sentences that capture the audience.