Common Brushtail Possum
Sounds & Calls

Common Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) – This is the rufous form common in Tasmania.

Another of the more disconcerting sounds of the Australian bush at night, the throaty coughs and growls of a Common Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) sounds more monster than fluffy marsupial!

This species is widespread throughout Australia and is even common in some urban areas. The sounds of this species is one of the many scary sounds in the Australian bush at night and often freaks people out when they hear it for the first time! Apart from these growling calls, Common Brushtail Possums make other sounds including loud shrieks and harsh rasping calls.

Listen to Common Brushtail Possum Sounds

The audio in the following video was recorded at Dunn’s Swamp in Wollemi National Park, NSW and captures a couple of possums having a territorial disagreement! In the background you can here the calls of White-throated Nightjar, Southern Boobook and Eastern Banjo Frogs.

In the second video below, a variety a growls, grunts, screeches and other calls from Common Brushtail Possums can be heard. Recorded in Wollemi National Park, Australia.