Trichosurus vulpecula
Silhouette: Gavin Prideaux · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
The common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula, from the Greek for "furry tailed" and the Latin for "little fox", previously in the genus Phalangista) is a nocturnal, semiarboreal marsupial of the family Phalangeridae, native to Australia and invasive in New Zealand, and the second-largest of the Australasian possums.
Like most possums, the common brushtail possum is nocturnal. It is mainly a folivore, but has been known to eat small mammals such as rats. In most Australian habitats, eucalyptus leaves are a significant part of the diet, but rarely the sole item eaten. Its tail is prehensile and naked on its lower underside. The four colour variations are silver-grey, brown, black, and gold.
It is the Australian marsupial most often seen by city dwellers, as it is one of few that thrive in cities and a wide range of natural and human-modified environments. Around human habitations, common brushtails are inventive and determined foragers with a liking for fruit trees, vegetable gardens, and kitchen raids. Its once vast distribution has been greatly affected by drought, epizootic disease and intrusion of invasive mammals into its habitat.
The common brushtail possum was introduced to New Zealand in the 1850s to establish a fur industry, but in the mild subtropical climate of New Zealand, and with few to no natural predators, it thrived to the extent that it became a major agricultural and conservation pest. Wikipedia →
Call0:15
Australia · 2024
© Marc Anderson · XC1104548 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Call0:23
Australia · 2023
© Romuald Mikusek · XC1054596 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Recording1:17
Australia · 2026
© Mononymous · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Aoraki Mount Cook National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 3 | Egmont National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 4 | Maria Island National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Wilsons Promontory National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Booderee National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 7 | Flinders Ranges National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 8 | Freycinet National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 9 | Kosciuszko National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 10 | Arthur's Pass National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 11 | Flinders Chase | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 12 | Rakiura National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 13 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 14 | Hattah-Kulkyne National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 15 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 16 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 17 | Grampians National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 18 | Kakadu National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 19 | Fiordland National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 20 | Lamington National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 21 | Springbrook National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 22 | Abel Tasman National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Tama Zoological Park | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 3 | Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Perth Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Krakow Zoo | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 6 | Adelaide Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 7 | Willowbank Wildlife Reserve | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 8 | Paradise Valley Springs | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 9 | Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 10 | Kiwi Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 11 | Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 12 | Caversham Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 13 | Ranger Red’s Zoo & Conservation Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 14 | Wildlife Habitat Port Douglas | 🇦🇺 Australia |
No species of the same family or order lives in Auckland, so these are its closest relatives here: other mammals.
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Common Brushtail sighting in Auckland on a given day, based on 127 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 2nd most-seen of the 7 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March, July–October and December
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Common Brushtail in Auckland on a given day, against about 10% in November, the lowest month.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Brushtail sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
4th of 6
Of the 6 cities where we can rate Common Brushtail sightings, Auckland ranks 4th at about 20%. The best odds are in Brisbane (Australia, about 40%), Hobart (Australia, about 30%) and Melbourne (Australia, about 30%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Brushtail is recorded against all the mammals logged in Auckland (127 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
