General News
27 May, 2025
Possum rehabilitation Kylie’s mission
Clunes Wildlife Shelter have reared and raised many orphaned possums, but demand is increasing, requiring community support.
The local community are able to support orphaned possums’ chance at a wild life through the Clunes Wildlife Shelter’s current fundraiser.
The driving force behind the shelter is Kylie Cranage who has spent two decades rescuing and rehabilitating possums.
Through hard work and the support of those around her Ms Cranage has taken her passionate care from her childhood bedroom through to five aviaries and a darkened nursery in her spare room.
But demand has only increased, beyond what her family can do alone, so she started fundraising last month.
“Fundraising is so vital to the operation of many organisations,” she said.
“I can shoulder the operational costs of the shelter, but I can’t finance the bigger projects on my own that would improve the quality of life of possums in care, giving them adequate space to promote muscle growth and skills needed to transition into the wild,” she said.
Ms Cranage has always loved animals but working with them always felt specialised until she learned she could become a foster carer at 18-years-old.
“Once I knew I was able to look after wildlife I was interested in all native species but then the ones that came into care were ringtail possums,” she said.
A young boy possum, quiet and dependent but also playful, began her lifelong attachment and love of the species.
“He treated me like I was his mum from the beginning which made that connection really strong. He would hear my voice and come out of the pouch and want to be with me,” she said.
Since then she has raised many baby animals, including two daughters of her own in a partial hiatus from the shelter, before returning to her passion that never left in the last 18 months.
Last year, Ms Cranage reared and raised 34 ringtail possums from small joeys.
“There are always so many ringtails that come into care each year as they usually have two breeding cycles a year and carry multiples in the pouch,” she said.
“When they are met with a critical incident such as a collision with a motor vehicle, cat or dog attack, or are trapped or killed by humans, the babies, if fortunate, find themselves at wildlife shelters like mine.”
Currently she is spending multiple hours a day caring for multiple twins and triplets.
It’s minor compared to the hour and a half of feeding multiple times a night 10 baby ringtails need.
While it can be tiring Ms Cranage said their success depends on her.
“The only chance that they’ll get is if I keep my side of the commitment. I do it for them. For their chance at having a wild life and just being alive,” she said.
From a baby you could fit in your hand they rapidly grow, gaining two to four grams of weight a day, until they’re ready to be released in around six months — a difficult time for Ms Cranage.
“This entire time I’ve had them in my care they’ve been in my safety,” she said.
“But once they’re released you know they have so many things against them. There are so many different predators that will eat them, and attack them, and will they be welcomed by other possums, what’s their future going to be,” she said.
Her concerns echo a sentiment a mother might have of a child. After all Ms Cranage is intimately familiar with all parts of raising these possums.
From rearing them on warm milk which she blows on to test the heat, to each species and individual’s personality, to the teenage years when they pull away and eventually ‘move out’ — she’s there for all of it.
Her experience gave her confidence ahead of her first child, although she was still shocked by the differences.
“I found it more challenging to look after a baby than to look after 30 possums,” she said.
But eventually she settled in to the role, had another daughter, and now they alongside her partner are involved in the shelter.
Those interested in supporting the shelter can find out more on the Clunes Wildlife Shelter’s Facebook page, however, Ms Cranage also encourages the community to consider how they can support other volunteer-led organisations near them.