Confused Little Stowaway Possum Found Clinging to Buoy in Pier

A confused possum has been found clinging to a buoy off a fishing pier in Australia after apparently stowing away on one of the boats moored there.

Rangers from the Whitecliffs Foreshore Reserve arrived at the Portsea Pier in Victoria after getting a report of a possum that was clinging to a mooring buoy. Images from the Reserve showed the small animal holding onto the rope looking sorry for itself.

The possum was scooped up in a net and taken on board a boat and transported to dry land, where it belongs.

Max Patton, foreshore manager at the Whitecliffs Foreshore Reserve, told Newsweek they believe the possum may have been living on one of the boats in the pier. "[They] then may have launched the boat and parked it on the mooring, with the possum being an unintended stowaway," he said. "It then may have tried to escape and ended up in the water, before making its way to a mooring buoy."

The possum was reported to the Reserve at around 8.00 a.m. local time and the team rescued it at around 9.30 a.m. "They are nocturnal, so it is likely that it became active at night after the boat was parked at the mooring and the owner had long left," Patton said.

Possums are a type of marsupial that are native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi.

The species of possum found on the buoy was a common brushtail, which tends to live in wooded areas along Australia's eastern, south-east and south-west coasts. They are often found in urban areas, with backyards and campgrounds making nice habitats for them.

Brushtail possums are a protected species under Australian law. In Victoria, it is illegal to interfere with or harm possums and they must not be kept without approval. It is legal to trap brushtail possums that are living in buildings but they must be released in the same area. Trapping is extremely stressful for the animals and most die if they are relocated.

The stowaway possum was released at dusk close to where it was rescued. Footage from the Whitecliffs Foreshore Reserve showed it bounding away into some shrubs.

Whitecliffs Foreshore Reserve is an area towards the southern tip of the Mornington Peninsula that stretches about 3.7 miles. It is Crown Land and is overseen by a committee on behalf of the government. A foreshore team manages the day-to-day operations of the reserve.

Patton said this was the first time a possum had ever been found on a buoy and that this was the strangest place an animal had ever been found on the reserve "by far."