facts and care advice
MARSUPIALS
Reunite Possums
FAUNA RESCUE OF SA PROGRAM INITIATIVE
the reuniting / RINGTAIL WILDLING RELEASE PROGRAM – A PREFERRED OPTION TO HANDREARING!
- Reuniting possum Joeys
- possum calls audio
- reunite videos
- RINGTAIL WILDLING RELEASE PROGRAM
- Wires Autumn 2024 Update!
Reuniting Brushtails and Ringtail Joeys
The Reuniting and Ringtail Wildling Release Program is an initiative founded by one of our member’s who through her research and experiences has been very successful in reuniting Brushtail and Ringtail joeys with their mums. Fauna Rescue of SA Inc would like to share some information regarding this exciting programme!
What to do as a member of the public if you find a joey?
Record the exact address where the joey came from – we depend on the information provided by the member of the public and it is extremely useful if you take photos of where the possum was found, including the tree if relevant and a dropped pin in Google maps.
**DO NOT LEAVE THE JOEY UNDER THE TREE** joeys are unable to regulate their temperature, require feeding and toileting.
The very best option for a rescued joey is to organise getting it to an experienced wildlife carer or vet immediately.
Possums in South Australia
- How to tell the difference between a brushtail and a ringtail
- Researching Reuniting
- Reuniting Statistics
PLEASE CLICK ON LINK BELOW TO READ FURTHER DETAILS OF
The Reuniting / Ringtail Wildling Release Program
POSSUM CALLS – audio RECORDINGS
If you do not know what the calls a possum joey makes to its mother sounds like – please click the buttons below to hear the specific species audio recordings.
If you hear these calls in your garden or out walking start searching the location there may be an orphaned joey.
Note Brushtails possums normally only have one (1) joey while Ringtail possums usually have twins or triplets.
Click the links below to hear the calls
Here are a few short videos of our success this Spring and the back story including pictures.
The small team is out every night reuniting, and currently we have reunited, *70* joeys from 1 September 2025 to 1 August 2026 compared to 75 last year in 12 months.
We have experienced that not all reunites occur on the first attempt and joeys appear to be a twin or triplet.
We would like to point out that even though the video footage is 40 seconds there is a full reunite process in place. This can take up to 3 hours and multiple attempts to search for mum and assess each individual reunite case (no two reunites are the same)!
Click the links below to view the reunite videos
Ringtail Reunite Success – October 2023 – We also received a call from a vet clinic for a 102g female ringtail which was brought into the home by a cat at Hazelwood Park. After vet check and being in care for observation, she was also successfully reunited after several attempts.
Ringtail Unsuccessful – October 2023 –We have also included a video where a ringtail possum came down but unfortunately retreats without collecting the 60g female ringtail joey at St Georges – this shows that not all reunites are successful and we can only presume that it was not mum or there may be an issue with the joey.
Brushtail Reunite Success – September 2023 – We received a text for a possible reunite for a 239gm female brushtail possum at Flinders Medical Centre. We walked the area for 3 hours – as normal we were going to call it a night when we thought we would do one more sweep and came upon a tree that the security guard told us earlier in the night a possum is usually seen in this tree. You would not believe it….she was at the top of the tree coming down.
Ringtail Reunite Success – We received a call for a 87g male ringtail found on the ground at Happy Valley BMX park. We were met by the member of public to show us the exact location and were fortunate to find mum for a successful reunite.
Ringtail Reunite Success – October 2023 – Here is a beautiful video of a 91gm female ringtail busily feeding on tips. This was the second ringtail joey in two weeks which was brought into the home by a cat in Blackwood. After a vet check and not appearing to have puncture wounds, she stayed in care for observation. She was then successfully reunited back with her mum! Coincidentally, this joey was from the same address another joey was found last year under similar circumstances – it was our first reunite last season 2022.
The Ringtail Wildling Release Program is in its infancy and is designed to re-intergrate ringtails only back with their family if you have an exact location.
Wires National Wildlife Network Autumn 2024 Update!
Exciting news – We are thrilled Fauna Rescue of SA Inc has been featured in the Wires National Wildlife Network Autumn 2024 Update!
The featured topic is our Reuniting / Ringtail Wilding Release program initiative.
Here is a copy of the article titled “A second chance at a wild life: The benefits and success factors of possum reuniting“
PLEASE DON’T ATTEMPT TO REUNITE without the guidance and advice of an advanced carer who specialises in reunites to help you or come with you as there are many factors you need to take into consideration.
THE VERY BEST OPTION FOR A RESCUED POSSUM IS TO ORGANISE GETTING IT TO A VET OR AN EXPERIENCED WILDLIFE CARER IMMEDIATELY.
Should you have any questions regarding young joeys or possible reunites
please contact the Fauna Rescue hotline on (08) 8289 0896.
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Twin Ringtails Reunited
Brushtail with Joey
Ringtail Possums
