Lately, ringrtail
Wildlife Care
“When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe… The very stones seem talkative, sympathetic…”
Augusta, Nellie, Amelia, and Ferris have grown up, progressing apace from three-feeds per day to one, and moving from the smaller indoor enclosure to the larger one, as befits their acrobatics, and finally into the two outdoor enclosures. Not before, of course, sprouting into a quintet, with the arrival of a joey found by our neighbours in the Edinburgh Gardens.
Owing to her adorability, her rescuers named her Dora. As if meant to be, Dora the Explorer settled in, and made the decision to raise her to soft-release ready an easy one. Exhausted from her ordeal, having spent a long, hot day, exposed and trying to find safety, she bonded with the two closest to her in size, Ferris and Nellie, and so, as we had been about to move the quartet to their larger indoor digs, we divided the band of explorers into a trio and a duo. Not wishing to disturb what was already travelling smoothly, it was not an easy decision.
Amelia and Augusta, or the Pilot and the Biker, moved to the bigger enclosure for their shenanigans, and the smaller trio remained in their space, a warmth of sweetness in a suspended fleecy pouch. This will, however, mean that we will need to do two soft-releases come autumn, but such is Dora, Ferris and Nellie’s tail-curl tight friendship that we’ll have to make it work.
On a clement day, and with a string of good days ahead, the Pilot (named after Amelia Earhart) and the Biker (named after Augusta Van Buren) moved to the outdoor enclosure.
Pictured below, a wary gingerness, as they adjusted to their new space, by day. The story, at night, a wildly different tale. Threading out into the garden to check on their progress, they were springing off every surface with confidence, speed, and terrific joy. Such state changes, the joy of the journey and the awakening of the nocturnal.
Here’s to the continued playful spirit, as they find their way.
The bond between Ferris, Nellie, and Dora has made it increasingly problematic to distinguish who is who. While Nellie has a darker face with apricot tufts about her ears, Ferris, more honey peach tones, and Dora, a leaner, mouse-like face shape, and a distinctive sideway lapping technique, at a cursory glance, it is near impossible.
Hot on their heels, after weighing and checking over Nellie, Ferris, and Dora, recording their particulars on their respective charts, we ascertained that it was also time for the trio to advance to their outdoor enclosure. They were ready and raring and exquisitely fluffy! In the background, we’d been getting their enclosure ready, sawing new branches to fashion into a series of moveable swings and runways, fastening nesting boxes and a fine protective mesh curtain (to ensure they are safe from our local wild possums).
And so, into the new enclosure they went, one, two, three. Another milestone, for them, on their measured return to wild.
To the trio, so alike they’re proving tricky to tell apart. To them thriving!
All wildlife care work is voluntary, so any help is immensely appreciated. We run our wildlife shelter Tiny but Wild from our home. All donations to Tiny but Wild go directly towards rehabilitating the wildlife in our care.
Image credit: Tiny but Wild, October 2026
