Australia has an amazing range of possums & gliders. From the tiny feather-tailed glider through to the much larger brushtail possums. They can be found in almost all terrestrial Australian habitats from the rainforest and mountain tops to the suburban back yard. It is their ability to live in our urban areas that sees some of these species present as one of the most common mammals to come into our care.

All possums and gliders are marsupials. A marsupial is a mammal with no placenta, whose young are born at embryonic stage after short gestation period, then attach to a nipple, usually within a marsupium, or under folds of skin. A marsupium is a pouch of skin on the belly enclosing nipples. A mammal is an animal which has a backbone and whose well-developed brain is protected by a skull. Its heart has four chambers which separate fresh from used blood. Using the heat generated in its body, a mammal keeps its internal temperature much the same no matter what the temperature of its surroundings. The hair, which grows from a mammal’s skin acts as insulation to help this. All mammals have mammary glands, which in female mammals develop so that they can feed their young ones on milk. Mammals have four limbs, which may be adapted for swimming or, in bats, for flight.

On the Sunshine Coast we all live with a variety of Possums and Gliders. Some of these mammals are in our backyards everyday and we have no idea that they are around. To help you identify these amazing animals a brief description is given below. Just remember identifying animals can be a bit tricky as there may be differences in appearance as many of the books contain animals that live in other areas to the Sunshine Coast and may show different colorations or diets than the ones found here. If you would like to make your own possum box download our procedures to make, hang and a few tips to encourage possums to your back yard.

Class: Mamallia (Mammals)
Order: Diprotodonta
Family: Phalangeridae
Genus and species:
• Trichosurus vulpecula
Body Length : 350-500mm
Tail Length : 250-400mm
Ear Length : 50-60mm
Weight: 1.5-4kg
Life Span: 8 years
Gestation: 18 days
Number of Young: 1 (1-2 times/year)
Time in Pouch : 4-5 months
Age at Maturity: 12-16 months

Common Brushtail Possum

The common brushtail possum is a cat-sized nocturnal, arboreal and terrestrial possum. They may be identified by their ears being obviously longer than broad, with narrowly rounded tips and a patch of white fur at the base of the ear. Their fur colour, length and density highly variable. Most they are a light silver-grey above with cream underparts, including chin and partial collar. The fur on the chest of mature animals, particularly males, is often stained a rufousyellow/orange colour due to the reddish secretion from the sternal (chest) gland. Brushtails also have a gland under the chin and at the anus. All of these glands assist animals in communicating and marking out territories. They have a black tail that is only slightly bushy with no fur underneath and is moderately prehensile. They have black around eyes, on sides of muzzle, and narrow midline of face and head. Some individuals pale yellowish white, others have varying amounts of rufous. There range of coat colours is often related to the forests they inhabit and generally vary from a dark phase in the wetter forests to a silver grey phase in the dryer forests. This possum is often confused with the short-eared possum, which is much larger, more thickset, darker furred, bushier tailed with blunter muzzle. Ears are not obviously longer than wide.

Brushtails make a characteristic loud series of rattling nasal coughs and hisses. They eat mostly leaves of a wide variety of trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants, also flowers, fruits. They make their dens in a tree hollow or other sheltered cranny, sometimes at ground level. In urban areas where there is a shortage of tree hollows, brushtails will seek shelter in a wide variety of dark niches, a popular site being the space between the roof and ceiling of a house. It is found in most treed environments, including cities, towns and farmland. The brushtail possum is generally replaced in wet sclerophyll forest by the short-eared possum.

Brushtails appear to be territorial (they defend an area), particularly around their den sites. Brushtails generally occupy an area of two to five hectares, with males often having larger home ranges and longer range lengths than females. The home range will vary if possums are utilising seasonal food supplies. Where areas overlap brushtails generally rely on avoiding confrontations with one another.

Short-Eared Possum

A large heavy-set possum of wet forest with upperparts usually uniformly dark grey flecked with buff, but can be blackish, dark brown or reddish. Its underparts are a cream or yellow/orange and has a tail that is thick and blackish. They have relatively small ears and a broadly oval pink nose. Their feet are noticeably blackish. With the use of a torch at night their eyeshine can be seen as red.

The short-eared possum may be identified from the common brushtail by its smaller rounded ears and lack of any distinguishing facial markings. The sternal gland does not discolour the fur as in the common brushtail. Many also get the short-eared and the Mountain Brushtail confused. The short-eared possum is known to habitat areas from Armidale in New South Wales to central Queensland, whereas the mountain brushtail or bobuck is known to habitat areas from Armidale to Victoria. The difference in them is in size, weight and slight facial features.

The short-ear produces a short sequence of sharp grunts or coughs, "ke ke ke", not a rattling series as in common brushtail possums. The short-eared possum is more terrestrial than other possums and can often be seen feeding on ground plants and may make a den in fallen logs as well as standing tree hollows. They eat a wide range of plant material from the ground and shrub layers including leaves, fern fronds, buds, fruits, fungi and lichen. It is common in cool temperate wet forest and subtropical rainforest with a luxuriant understorey of non-sclerophyllous shrubs and ferns.

Common Ringtail Possum

The ringtails colour is variable with usually grizzled grey-brown above with strong rufous tinge to limbs and flanks. It has white underparts and patches behind and below the small rounded ears. Their tail is rufous-grey with a white terminal quarter (the end of the tail) for half, and is shorthaired and tapering. The ringtail possum uses it tail just like a 5th hand (prehensile) and it is often carried in a coil. Populations in rainforest have bright orange face, limbs and flanks, blackish flecked rufous back, and rufous wash to underparts.

The ringtail’s forepaw (or hand) differs from brushtail possums in that the first and second digits oppose the other three when grasping. It voice is a soft, high-pitched, insect-like chirruping, also can make a harsher "zip zip". The ringtail is a very social creature, occurring as family groups. They are nocturnal and are very agile climbers and can leap between clumps of foliage. They eats leaves, flowers and fruits of a wide variaety of native trees and shrubs. The ringtail shelters in large spherical "drey" constructed of shredded bark, leaves and twigs in dense shrubbery, or in tree hollow lined with leaves. Materials are carried to the nest site in the rolled tip of the prehensile tail.

Both males and females construct dreys and dreys are commonly shared. Both sexes also make nests in hollows of trees. Ringtails will sometimes produce soft faeces during the day, which they eat and which allows them to salvage proteins and vitamin B. It is common in open and closed forests, coastal scrub and gardens and especially where there is a tall shrub layer that is dense and diverse, particularly where there are pandanus palms and 90% canopy cover.

Squirrel Glider

The squirrel glider has upperparts coloured pearl-grey and has a blackish midline of varying width from between eyes to mid back, darkest and broadest on head. They have blackish patches around eyes with alternate black and cream patches at base of ears. The edge of gliding membrane is blackish and fringed with white. Underparts are white, including sides of face to below eyes. The tail is pale grey to blackish with fur long, especially at base, giving a distinct taper. The suger gliders voice can be heard as a low whistle to each other.

The squirrel glider is nocturnal, arboreal, can glide up to 90m. Constructing leaf nests in tree hollow, they eat arboreal arthropods, mealworm beetles, baby mice, moths (particularly evening browns), butterflies, larvae, spiders, termite, nectar and pollen from eucalypt and acacia and banksia, manna, eucalypt gum and acacia sap.

More common throughout the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane, the squirrel glider is endangered in New South Wales and vulnerable in North Queensland. This is primarily due to tree clearing on their habitat. The natural predator of these gliders is the Powerful Owl. When a Powerful Owl eats gliders they always leave the tail behind. Usually squirrel gliders come into the care of the Wilvos from cat and dog attack. Unfortunately many die because of the bacteria on domestic animals teeth and the shock. Squirrel glidders live in social groups of adults and young of up to ten in number, but can be vicious to intruders. Don’t keep squirrel gliders near other small marsupials eg. pinkie possums or marsupial mice babies – they will eat them – particularly in winter when they need more protein. They mostly live in dry sclerophyll forest on inland slopes and nearby riverine corridors. They can also be found in damp coastal eucalypt/banksia forest and woodland and on the coastline in scribbly gum forest.

Feathertail Glider

The feathertail glider is the world’s smallest gliding mammal being no bigger than a small mouse. When the Wilvos get baby orphans in they need very intensive care as they can weigh as little as 3 grams and are very tiny. Its tail is unique among Australian mammals – almost hairless except for fringe of long stiff hairs on either side giving feather-like appearance. To "glide" from tree to tree it uses Its gliding membrane that stretches betwen its elbows and knees. Their upperparts are uniform mid-grey, often with white patch behind the ears and are blackish around the eyes. Underparts are whitish, including the face below its eyes. Unlike its relativley "noisey cousins the feather tail is silent.

The feather tail is nocturnal yet it can move rapidly through the canopy of trees and shrubs, and despite its small size can make controlled glides up to 25m. When disturbed they may spiral to ground then dash into cover. This little marsupial loves Melaleuca trees and will forage for insects around them Their other favourite food includes nectar, manna, and arthropods.

They nest colonially in spherical nests in tree hollows, tree ferns or banana bunches lined with leaves and bark. They are highly social creatures and will form groups of between 10 and 30 individuals. Living in cool-temperate and tropical eucalypt forests they need a high diversity of trees and shrubs to provide year-round nectar. They are more common in wet and old growth forest than dry or regenerating ones and on the Sunshine Coast lives mainly in paperbark forests.

Yellow Bellied Glider

The yellow bellied glider has upperparts of olive-grey with broad blackish areas on top of head and neck constricting to irregular black midline to base of tail, legs and terminal half of tail black. Its underparts are pale yellow or cream and can sometimes have tinges orange. Its tail is fluffy and around 1.5 x its body length and has distinctive long ears (50mm) that are pink-grey and furless. When viewed at night they have a dull red eye-shine. Yhe yellow bellied glider is highly vocal. Typical call 1 or 2 loud, high-pitched shrieks followed by long gurgle that can be audible over a 500m distance. They also make a whirring, moaning call while gliding.

Nocturnal and arboreal they are active, highly mobile and social, maintaining group cohesion through frequent calls. They eat mostly insects and sap from eucalypts and angophoras, nectar, honeydew and manna, with arthropods and pollen for protein. Their favourite feeding tree is the Red Mahogany. They obtain eucalypt sap by using their teeth to create characteristic triangular incisions in the tree trunk and main limbs of selected trees. They then maintain these wounds by regular chewing to keep the sap flowing. Many trees are tested for their suitaility but few are actually chosen. They produce ‘chew balls’ during eating and these are deposited on the ground.

The yellowbellied glider has a patchy distribution and are now usually only found in wet sclerophyll forest. On the Sunshine Coast they are solitary and are most likely to live in scribbly gum hollows.

Greater Glider

The greater glider is the largest gliding marsupial and can be as big as a cat. Its gliding membrane is attached between its elbows and ankles. Its ears are large, round, thickly furred on the outside and fringed with long fur. It also has long, shaggy body fur which can be variable in colour with generally its underparts whitish or pale grey, upperparts sooty brown, grey, cream, mottled grey and cream, or grey with white head and tail. It has a very fluffy appearance with a very long tail which is not prehensile. Eye-shine is a brilliant white-yellow. Its voice is a yapping shrill sound that it makes to other other gliders.

The greather glider is nocturnal like all other gliders, but unlike its more sociable counsins is solitary with males and females only coming together during mating.Although they look quite large greater gliders only weigh about 1.5 kg, this is why they can glide so easily through the top canopy of the forest up to an incredible 100m between trees! They eat only eucalypt leaves and buds and is very selective in its choice of species. They have a specialised diet similar to koalas and like the koala are vunerable to clearing of our native forests. They are top canopy dwellers and nest in tree hollows.They are found in wet sclerophyll forest on the ranges and coastal plains.