Possum Rescue!

Sometimes when I am are hiking through the bush I come across stuff that really upsets me. Usually it's the garbage that thoughtless people dump that gets me annoyed, especially old car bodies and unwanted household furniture.

It seems that wherever there is a track to give any kind of access, there will be peoples garbage. This is especially evident in the vicinty of rubbish transfer stations. Garbage dumped near the Red Hill transfer station on Toodyay Rd has got me mad many times, as the dumping is done in John Forrest National Park, one of my favourite photography destinations in the Perth Hills.

But sometimes it's something else.

Several years ago, I took the family for a hike to scout out some possible locations for bush landscapes - something we do quite often together.

While exploring some bush we came across an old water tank. Having a look inside we were dismayed to find three possums which were obviously trapped with no way to escape.

After obtaining some protective gloves and a step from staff at the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC), I carefully entered the tank and approached the animals. They were obviously in a bad way, and must have been in the tank for some time with no food or water. They offered no resistance to being rescued and in short order we transferred them to a local wildlife rehabilitation centre. Before we left the scene we positioned a large fallen tree branch in the tank as a temporary measure, so that no further animals would be trapped.

The episode upset both me and my family. How could an old water tank be left as a wildlife trap in an area of native forest, controlled by the DEC? The location is near their Perth Hills headquarters and the Perth Hills Discovery Centre - an venue used for public eco-education.

Possums in Tank – Perth Hills, Western Australia

One of the possums subsequently died but the other two recovered and were released back into the native bush in the same area a few weeks later. We reported the find and the position of the water tank to DEC staff who assured us that the tank would be demolished so as to not pose any further threat to our native wildlife.

Richard getting into the tank

Now to the problem.

Several years later, were again hiking in the area and decided to check on the old water tank to see what had been done.
Nothing had been done, the tank was exactly as we left it. At least the tree branch we had put in the tank was still in position.

Box of Possums

The photos were captured with a P&S.