Ring Ring

This poor little thing isn't a large rat but a very bedraggled ringtail possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus) which was suffering from the cold and wet overnight and trying to find a warm spot to have a nap.  It's highly unusual to see a ringtail awake during the day and certainly not at waist height in a small bush so he/she must really have been suffering.  Possums are protected animals even though they do a great deal of damage to gardens (this little one was munching on the new leaves on a lilly pilly that I'm hoping will one day grow large - when it stops getting pruned by possums!!).  Anyway, a little later it had curled up in the same bush trying to sleep but later still it was gone.  It's even colder this evening than this morning so I hope it survives.