Confused possum rescued from bouy by scuba diving instructor and released back into the wild

Confused possum rescued from bouy by scuba diving instructor and released back into the wild



A possum found clinging to a buoy in the middle of a harbour is lucky to be alive after being rescued and returned to land by a scuba diving instructor.

Luke English is used to assisting others in the water, but the unique extraction last week caught him and his colleagues off guard.

The scuba team from RedBoats discovered the creature balancing on a mooring at Portsea Pier in Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, puzzled as to how it got there.

He told 9News, “That was the first and last possum I would ever see on a mooring in Portsea.” ‘It was hilarious,’ says the author.

‘I just see so much strange stuff,’ I explained, “yeah, where is it?” Mr. English explained.

Assisted by two Whitecliffs Foreshore Reserve rangers with a fishing net, Mr English carefully crept his boat alongside the buoy trying hard not to startle the possum.

The tactic didn’t quite go to plan and the wily possum jumped off the mooring and into the water.

‘Whilst understandably confused, the possum appeared to be healthy and was able to be scooped up into the net and taken aboard,’ Whitecliffs Foreshore Reserve said.

‘Once back on dry land the possum was assessed and deemed to be healthy, allowing it to be later released at dusk (on land, not back into the water) near where it was rescued.’

A possum found clinging to a buoy in the middle of a habour is lucky to be alive after a scuba diving instructor rescued the terrified creature and brought it back to land
A possum found clinging to a buoy in the middle of a harbour is lucky to be alive after a scuba diving instructor rescued the terrified creature and brought it back to land
Luke English (pictured) is no stranger to helping people in the water, but last week's unusual extraction took him and his team by surprise
Luke English (pictured) is no stranger to helping people in the water, but last week’s unusual extraction took him and his team by surprise
While it was a happy ending for the little critter (pictured, hopping away after the rescue), it remains a mystery as to how the possum ended up in the middle of the harbour in the first place
While it was a happy ending for the little critter (pictured, hopping away after the rescue), it remains a mystery as to how the possum ended up in the middle of the harbour in the first place

While it was a happy ending for the little critter, it remains a mystery as to how the possum ended up in the middle of the harbour in the first place.

Mr English suspects the animal may have been nesting in a boat and jumped out while it was moving after getting startled.

This article by Levi Parsons was first published by The Daily Mail on 31 March 2022. Lead Image: A possum found clinging to a buoy in the middle of a habour is lucky to be alive after a scuba diving instructor rescued the terrified creature and brought it back to land.


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