Orphaned baby possum has adopted stuffed kangaroo as surrogate mother

A baby brushtail possum in Australia has adopted a plush toy kangaroo, even sleeping with it every night, after being orphaned in the wild. The possum joey is being given around-the-clock care by Taronga Zoo vet nurse Felicity Evans who has nicknamed the orphan “Bettina”.
Bettina was taken to the Taronga Zoo Wildlife Hospital after being found wandering alone and suffering from dehydration. She is one of two possum joeys Ms Evans is helping to care for. Since coming into Ms Evans’s care the possum joey has built up an attachment to a fluffy new friend, a plush kangaroo toy, which she holds onto tightly while she eats and sleeps each night.
Ms Evans said the attachment to the toy may be to compensate for Bettina’s not having a mother. “At this age she would naturally still be with her mother, so the soft toy gives her something to snuggle for comfort,” she said. “It’s not as fluffy and woolly as an adult brushtail possum, but she clings to it using her claws and teeth as she would do with mum in the wild.”

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The wildlife hospital will continue to house Bettina until it decides she is ready to be released back into the wild. Ms Evans says the Bettina’s story should serve as a warning to people on the roads this spring to watch out for wildlife. “These two joeys wouldn’t be alive today if someone hadn’t noticed them and brought them to the wildlife hospital,” she said.