Possum skull and jaw

A scan of a common brushtail possum, Trichosurus vulpecula, skull and lower jawbone.

This possum has a sad story.

Some years ago I contracted a pest control company to deal with rabbits, which are in huge numbers here. The rep came and was very optimistic that he could deal with the rabbits without affecting my sheep, pets or other wildlife. I paid a lot of money and he spread something, not sure what, about.

Within a couple of weeks, the rabbits had at least tripled in number. I called the company and the same rep appeared. While we were inspecting the rabbits, and confirming that the "whatever" had all been taken, we found a dead possum.

The "pest control" rep said it was my fault for not telling him how to control rabbits and to avoid harming wildlife. He refused to give me a refund, then harassed me for putting an honest review on his website. Here, in Australia, it is generally illegal to harm wildlife in most circumstances.

The poor possum had a dead, bean sized, joey in her pouch, and a much older live joey clinging to her back. I grabbed the joey, and later that day took him to a local wildlife rescue carer. I can confirm that joey possums have claws like razor blades.

I put a cage over the possum, and left the worms and flies do their job. After two years, I gathered the remaining bones, and left them in a chlorine bleach for three weeks, to clean and sterilise them. These scans and models are the first step in a project to do the whole skeleton, or at least what remains.

You may notice signs of osteoporosis in the bones, and some missing teeth.  This shows up well in the models.

If you like this model, why not donate to Geelong Animal Rescue https://www.geelonganimalrescue.org.au/, or your own local animal rescue service.

Prints OK in PLA, with support, beige looks good.