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Zen
came into our care in November 2002. She was so tiny and
our hearts melted for her straight away!
A
guy who had quoted us for an air conditioner rang at about 9.30pm
one night and at the time I thought....... hey, this is a weird
time to be ringing me about the air conditioner - pushy buggar!!
I think he must have realised what I was thinking because he quickly
told me that it had nothing to do with the air conditioner, he
had actually found a tiny baby possum joey and had remembered
that I was a wildlife carer.
She
was lucky to be alive. Mum was found in a busy street in
town.... squashed by a car.... little Zen was found curled up
in the pouch blissfully unaware.
Zen
was only just furred when she came into care, so we had to keep
her nice and warm. She was bundled up in wooly wrappings
which we then put on top of a small electric blanket...... and
off she when to sleep.
Until
it was feeding time!! Her call was the most beautiful thing
I've ever heard, but I didn't get to think about it too long.....
"mum, I want my dinner!!!!!".....or so she said
in possum language!
And
there started the life of our little Zen.... eating, sleeping
and playing. What a life!! The playing was fun for us too
(until the claws got sharp - we both ended up with skin like pin
cushions!).
Happily,
all has gone very well with Zen's raising. She was moved
out to the big aviary in mid February 2003. We are slowly
distancing ourselves from her, which is actually quite a hard
thing to do. This is a very bitter / sweet time for a foster
mum or dad. We'll be sad to see her go, but at the same time ecstatic
to see her go off into the wild where she belongs.
Watch
this space to find out how Zen's release back into the wild went......
Well,
I am extremely pleased to say that Zen has safely returned to
the wild - a job well done I think!
She
periodically comes home to visit as we've left the release hatch
in the aviary open for her. We can always count on seeing her
during wet weather as she comes back to sleep in her warm and
dry drey. Clever possum!
This
photo was taken after her release on a day where she decided the
call of a piece of corn was just too great!
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