In all my time at Cape Trib, I have only seen a stripey possum twice. The first time we were camping under the blackbean a few months after we arrived in 1989, and the stripey came down the trunk of the black bean tree right in front of our noses. The second time was a stripey in a banana bunch a few years later, eating the banana and making a scratching sound on the plastic bag covering the bananas. They are nocturnal and I tend not roam at night.
Then just a few days ago there was a loud 'chirring' sound coming from the gazebo around 8 pm. The dogs were alert and went over to investigate. So did I. In the dark there was nothing to be seen, but a very loud noise was coming from behind a leaf. It sounded like it was upset and annoyed whatever it was. Digby arrived with the torch and low and behold - a very small stripey possum looking up at us. We watched it as it stood up and then in a bowlegged hop it raced acros the driveway and up the mango tree. Digby grabbed for the camera but of course it was gone. We think that it might have lost its balance and fallen out of the tree and was winded - took a few minutes to recover and was making a fuss.
My third siting and I was thrilled!
You can see a photo of a stripey at http://www.daintreecoast.com/rainforest1.htm
