“Hello, possums!”*

My sister’s house is on a bush block and the hollow of one of their trees is home to two possums: mum and a growing baby. They are well accustomed to humans, and, indeed, have come to expect food, and so they were not at all shy when we looked in on them today. In fact, I had to stand back a bit, since the mother was leaning so much towards me in the hope of being fed that I was sure she was going to leap onto me (and, since her claws and teeth are sharp — as my Dad discovered after these shots were taken when he tried feeding them some cherry tomatoes — I really didn’t want her to, despite her apparent cute furry cuddliness).

* Catch-phrase of Dame Edna Everage (a character too hard to explain if you don’t already know).