Introducing Koru

Nikita's new baby has been named Koru. Koru looks like a little girl possum. Koru is the Maori word for the spiral shape of an unfurling fern frond and was chosen because when first seen she had her tail curled in a similar shape (even more tightly curled than in the photo below).

Koru back-riding on Nikita - 7^th July 2019

Koru is very smart and independent. When she was with Nikita and Sasha came uncomfortably close, she did not wait for Nikita to do something but immediately rushed up the tree onto to a thin branch where Sasha couldn't follow.

Koru - 12^th July 2019

Nikita's other baby has yet to be seen. It's quite possible this baby is with its father or hiding elsewhere, but it's also possible that the little one suffered some mishap. The fact that ringtails have two (and sometimes three) babies at a time indicates that they have a fairly high mortality rate.

In other news, a young male brushtail was also seen recently. This brushtail is about the size that Sahsa's previous baby Zak would now be, but is most likely to be the offspring of some neighbouring possum looking for a new territory.