{"id":2188084,"date":"2025-08-25T18:00:27","date_gmt":"2025-08-25T17:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/?p=2188084"},"modified":"2025-08-23T09:01:03","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T08:01:03","slug":"when-a-sick-possum-showed-up-in-my-garden-my-heart-overtook-my-head-is-it-ever-ok-to-feed-urban-wildlife","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/when-a-sick-possum-showed-up-in-my-garden-my-heart-overtook-my-head-is-it-ever-ok-to-feed-urban-wildlife\/","title":{"rendered":"When a sick possum showed up in my garden my heart overtook my head. Is it ever OK to feed urban wildlife?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Chopping vegetables in my kitchen on a winter afternoon, I was startled by the sound of rustling branches and loud coughing coming from my back yard.<\/p>\n<p>I walked outside tentatively, prepared to face a fence-hopping intruder. Instead, after a few minutes of listening to evenly timed wheezes, I spotted it \u2013 a small brushtail possum, tucked behind lilly-pilly branches bowing over my fence.<\/p>\n<p>Through the leaves, two black eyes peered desperately into the afternoon sun, eyelids dotted with pus. Its pink nose was swollen and its body and limbs were a patchwork of rashes, with pieces of fur missing across its torso.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 640px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-2188084-1\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"https:\/\/uploads.guim.co.uk\/2025\/08\/06\/250806PossumLoops_article.mp4?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/uploads.guim.co.uk\/2025\/08\/06\/250806PossumLoops_article.mp4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow external noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">https:\/\/uploads.guim.co.uk\/2025\/08\/06\/250806PossumLoops_article.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n<p><em>Feeding native wildlife is a divisive topic; Phoebe Loomes started leaving her visiting possum slices of apple and carrot<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Huffing and bloodied, the possum looked like a once-loved teddy bear \u2013 greying, losing its stuffing and left to decay in the garden.<\/p>\n<p>My bleeding heart took over my head and I dashed inside and grabbed a bag of frozen berries, dumping a handful in a glass of water to thaw before wandering out and dropping a few wet fruits on the fence.<\/p>\n<p>Over the afternoon I watched the sick possum pick up berries, nibbling while purple juice dripped off its chin. As the sun set it put its head into its chest, wheezing itself to sleep.<\/p>\n<p>Feeding native wildlife is a divisive topic. While some throw mince to kookaburras with wild abandon, others tut tut, insisting it\u2019s best to let them fend for themselves.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"thumbnail wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 665px\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==\" fifu-lazy=\"1\" fifu-data-sizes=\"auto\" fifu-data-srcset=\"https:\/\/wp.fifu.app\/focusingonwildlife.com\/aHR0cHM6Ly9pLmd1aW0uY28udWsvaW1nL21lZGlhL2JkYjc4YTJiYjg4ZjcyMzBmOGMxYjAyYTI1MzE2MjQ3MjRkYWNmYTAvNzEwXzBfMjIzNl8yMjM2L21hc3Rlci8yMjM2LmpwZz93aWR0aD00ODAmZHByPTEmcz1ub25lJmNyb3A9bm9uZQ\/a5cfe31838a9\/when-a-sick-possum-showed-up-in-my-garden-my-heart-overtook-my-head-is-it-ever-ok-to-feed-urban-wildlife.webp?p=2188084&amp;w=75&amp;h=0&amp;c=0 75w, 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fifu-data-src=\"https:\/\/wp.fifu.app\/focusingonwildlife.com\/aHR0cHM6Ly9pLmd1aW0uY28udWsvaW1nL21lZGlhL2JkYjc4YTJiYjg4ZjcyMzBmOGMxYjAyYTI1MzE2MjQ3MjRkYWNmYTAvNzEwXzBfMjIzNl8yMjM2L21hc3Rlci8yMjM2LmpwZz93aWR0aD00ODAmZHByPTEmcz1ub25lJmNyb3A9bm9uZQ\/4b2a3c39ce10\/when-a-sick-possum-showed-up-in-my-garden-my-heart-overtook-my-head-is-it-ever-ok-to-feed-urban-wildlife.webp?p=2188084\" alt=\"The brushtail possum in the writer\u2019s Sydney back yard.Photograph: Phoebe Loomes\" width=\"655\" height=\"655\" title=\"\"><figcaption class=\"caption wp-caption-text\">The brushtail possum in the writer\u2019s Sydney back yard. Photograph: Phoebe Loomes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I called the wildlife rescue organisation Wires, which advised us to capture the possum so it could receive veterinary care. As my husband slowly approached with an old bath towel, in a scene not dissimilar from the 1931 film Dracula, the possum suddenly reanimated, screeched loudly then scampered into the night.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Is it ever OK to feed urban wildlife?\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IR0Yw0pzM0M\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Should you feed wild animals?<\/h2>\n<p>Despite its terror it was clearly tempted by the prospect of more thawed-out berries because a few days later it returned. But I was not keen on trying to catch the possum again. After seeing it thrash around in fear, I worried that the stress of the ordeal might actually hasten its death. Diligently, and against best advice, I began leaving food for it.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>I wake to lilly-pilly fruits strewn like confetti across our concrete back yard<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Providing slices of apple and carrot seemed like a neighbourly thing to do. But regular offerings might harm an animal more than they help.<\/p>\n<p>Brushtail possums in a natural environment eat native shrubs, plants and leaves. This is why a professor of behavioural ecology at the University of Sydney, Clare McArthur, says feeding brushtail possums should largely be avoided: \u201cWhat are we doing to their gut flora? How good is [the food] we\u2019re feeding them?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf they become reliant on us, what happens when we go away?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>John Grant from Wires says feeding poses other risks, too. \u201cThey can also become \u2018humanised\u2019 and lose their natural fear of potential predators including domestic pets,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPossums (and native birds) are best fed with native foliage, so planting native trees and shrubs endemic to your area helps provide them with a natural food source.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Male possums being routinely fed can also become stressed when other males, keen for an opportunistic meal, encroach on their territory, which they naturally want to defend, according to a Taronga veterinary nurse, Annii Downing.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"thumbnail wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 661px\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==\" fifu-lazy=\"1\" fifu-data-sizes=\"auto\" 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https:\/\/wp.fifu.app\/focusingonwildlife.com\/aHR0cHM6Ly9pLmd1aW0uY28udWsvaW1nL21lZGlhLzIwNGM0YjM1OWNkYjJkNThlMDViMTZhN2EzNzI2ZjIwMmUwZTBiMjIvNzFfMjZfNTI4XzY0MC9tYXN0ZXIvNTI4LmpwZz93aWR0aD00ODAmZHByPTEmcz1ub25lJmNyb3A9bm9uZQ\/43e7ada6017f\/when-a-sick-possum-showed-up-in-my-garden-my-heart-overtook-my-head-is-it-ever-ok-to-feed-urban-wildlife.webp?p=2188084&amp;w=1600&amp;h=0&amp;c=0 1600w\" class=\"\" fifu-data-src=\"https:\/\/wp.fifu.app\/focusingonwildlife.com\/aHR0cHM6Ly9pLmd1aW0uY28udWsvaW1nL21lZGlhLzIwNGM0YjM1OWNkYjJkNThlMDViMTZhN2EzNzI2ZjIwMmUwZTBiMjIvNzFfMjZfNTI4XzY0MC9tYXN0ZXIvNTI4LmpwZz93aWR0aD00ODAmZHByPTEmcz1ub25lJmNyb3A9bm9uZQ\/4051a5222325\/when-a-sick-possum-showed-up-in-my-garden-my-heart-overtook-my-head-is-it-ever-ok-to-feed-urban-wildlife.webp?p=2188084\" alt=\"Orphaned brushtail possums rescued by Wires volunteers\" width=\"651\" height=\"789\" title=\"\"><figcaption class=\"caption wp-caption-text\">Orphaned brushtail possums rescued by Wires volunteers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>McArthur says giving a brushtail the odd piece of healthy food might not be a cardinal sin. \u201cNow and then, it would be OK, because one of the virtues is that we start to value the wildlife around us. So it\u2019s not a yes or no thing. It\u2019s a fine line.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While official advice on wild animal feeding skews negative, Prof emeritus Darryl Jones from Griffith University agrees that responsibly interacting with urban wildlife can increase people\u2019s compassion for animals.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo wild animals in Australia need extra food,\u201d Jones says. \u201cThe reality is, millions of people every single day are feeding birds, and can\u2019t find any information.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Compelled to counter this information void with facts, the behavioural ecologist, bird feeder and author of 10 books wrote a popular Australian field guide to urban birds, Feeding the Birds at Your Table.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you Google \u2018What should I feed my magpies\u2019 you\u2019ll get inundated with huge amounts of negativity,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s my thing \u2026 to reconnect people with nature.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnly when people care about, look for, observe and just try and understand the wildlife around us will they care enough to protect them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s the big philosophical side to this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Just under a year on, I still see the possum on our fence. Its wounds have healed, it no longer wheezes or wobbles.<\/p>\n<p>Instead it has taken to chewing my veggie patch, gnawing rainbow chard and parsley down to the mulch line every few days. While I used to enjoy my own harvest, I now laugh at what the picky possum has chosen and wonder why it doesn\u2019t like lemon thyme.<\/p>\n<p>Some nights, it seems as though there\u2019s been a possum party. I wake to lilly-pilly fruits strewn like confetti across our concrete back yard.<\/p>\n<p>And every so often my husband still leaves out an apple slice for the possum. Even though we know we shouldn\u2019t. Philosophically, though, I think it is sound.<\/p>\n<p><i>This <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/lifeandstyle\/2025\/aug\/21\/is-it-ever-ok-to-feed-urban-wildlife-sick-possum\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow external noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">article<\/a> by Phoebe Loomes was first published by The Guardian on 20 August 2025. Lead Image: A brushtail possum in Sydney. Photograph: Manuel Romaris\/Getty Images.<\/i><\/p>\n<h2>Help to protect wildlife<\/h2>\n<p><em>Help to protect wildlife by donating as little as $5 &#8211; it only takes a minute!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\" defer=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/donorbox.org\/install-popup-button.js\" id=\"donorbox-popup-button-installer\"> <\/script><a id=\"preview_inline_popup_button\" class=\"dbox-donation-button\" style=\"background: #0dc5dc; color: #ffffff; text-decoration: none; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; display: flex; gap: 8px; width: fit-content; font-size: 16px; border-radius: 5px; line-height: 24px; padding: 8px 24px;\" href=\"https:\/\/donorbox.org\/focusing-on-wildlife-needs-your-support?default_interval=m&amp;amount=50\" data-reminder-widget-enabled=\"true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow external noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"external\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==\" fifu-lazy=\"1\" fifu-data-sizes=\"auto\" fifu-data-srcset=\"https:\/\/donorbox.org\/images\/white_logo.svg 75w, https:\/\/donorbox.org\/images\/white_logo.svg 100w, https:\/\/donorbox.org\/images\/white_logo.svg 150w, https:\/\/donorbox.org\/images\/white_logo.svg 240w, https:\/\/donorbox.org\/images\/white_logo.svg 320w, https:\/\/donorbox.org\/images\/white_logo.svg 500w, https:\/\/donorbox.org\/images\/white_logo.svg 640w, https:\/\/donorbox.org\/images\/white_logo.svg 800w, https:\/\/donorbox.org\/images\/white_logo.svg 1024w, https:\/\/donorbox.org\/images\/white_logo.svg 1280w, https:\/\/donorbox.org\/images\/white_logo.svg 1600w\" fifu-data-src=\"https:\/\/donorbox.org\/images\/white_logo.svg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">Donate<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Our <a href=\"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/wildlife-charities-supported-by-focusing-on-wildlife\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">conservation partners<\/a> spend at least 90 percent of the money raised on actual fieldwork\u00a0rather than administration and fundraising.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr style=\"border-top: 1px solid white;\" \/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chopping vegetables in my kitchen on a winter afternoon, I was startled by the sound of rustling branches and loud coughing coming from my back yard. I walked outside tentatively, prepared to face a fence-hopping intruder. Instead, after a few minutes of listening to evenly timed wheezes, I spotted it \u2013 a small brushtail possum, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1178,"featured_media":2204855,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/3a50d899365311ab157e5b9c51862fb8053d45e2\/1120_0_5600_4480\/master\/5600.jpg?width=740&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6985,5],"tags":[3160,12489,1835],"class_list":["post-2188084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-wildlife","tag-brushtail-possum","tag-kookaburras","tag-magpies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2188084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1178"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2188084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2188084\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2204855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2188084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2188084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2188084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}