Australian Possum on the Mend After Bushfire Rescue

A small Australian possum who’d been singed in a bushfire was rescued and brought to the Port Macquarie Veterinary Hospital in New South Wales on Monday, November 11, where she gingerly nibbled on an apple slice.

The marsupial was found on a road just outside Port Macquarie, in a lethargic and dehydrated state.

The staff at Port Macquarie Veterinary Hospital said her whiskers were burnt off and her paws had been burnt.

The possum improved a little with food and syringe-fed water, the veterinary staff said.

At least 64 bush and grass fires were burning across New South Wales, 40 of which had not been contained, on November 11, the New South Wales Rural Fire Service said. At least 10 fires were burning out of control at “Watch and Act” level. Three people had died by November 11, fire services said, and more than 150 homes had been lost.

The New South Wales Rural Fire Service predicted “catastrophic fire danger” for the greater Sydney area on November 12 as high temperatures and strong winds were forecast. Similar warnings were in place for the Illawarra, Shoalhaven, and Hunter regions.

A spokesman for the fire service told the Sydney Morning Herald “this is as bad as it gets.” Credit: Port Macquarie Veterinary Hospital via Storyful