‘Falling out of trees': dozens of dead possums blamed on extreme heat stress.

More than 100 dead and injured ringtail possums have been found by wildlife rescuers along a single stretch of beach in Victoria in what ecologists say is becoming an annual occurrence due to extreme heat.

Wildlife rescuers found 127 dead and injured ringtail possums
at Somers Beach in Victoria during a four-day heat spell.

Rescuers and wildlife carers discovered 127 ringtail possums along the shoreline and in the water at Somers Beach on the Mornington Peninsula on Saturday during a four-day period that saw consistent temperatures in the high 30s, warm nights and bushfires in parts of the state.

Melanie Attard, a wildlife rescuer and foster carer with Aware Wildlife in Frankston, said rescuers suspected the animals had become so dehydrated and desperate they had left an area of scrub and come down to the beach and attempted to drink salt water.

Read the story from The Guardian by Lisa Cox - “‘Falling out of trees': dozens of dead possums blamed on extreme heat stress.”