What is a common ringtail possum?
The common ringtail possum is a small nocturnal possum of eastern Australia and Tasmania, named for its long tail, which it often carries curled into a ring at the tip.
Ringtails are about the size of a small cat, with grey-brown fur, a white-tipped tail and short ears. Their prehensile tail can grip branches like an extra hand, and they use it to carry nesting material.
They build ball-shaped nests called dreys from twigs, leaves and bark, usually in dense shrubs or tree forks. They also use tree hollows.
Diet
Ringtails eat leaves, flowers and fruit. Like rabbits, they eat some of their own droppings to digest food more fully.
They are common in gardens and parks in cities such as Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
Cats, foxes and owls prey on them.
Ringtails usually raise two young, which stay in the pouch for about four months and then ride on their mother's back. Unlike brushtails, ringtails are quiet and rarely nest in roofs, so many people never realise they share their garden with them. They are mostly seen at night by torchlight, moving carefully along branches and fence tops. Planting native shrubs and keeping cats indoors helps them thrive in suburbs.
Did You Know?
The western ringtail possum, a separate species in Western Australia, is critically endangered.