A family that plays together…

The definition of the word ‘drey’ in the Oxford dictionary is ‘the nest of a squirrel, typically in the form of a mass of twigs in a tree’. In Australia the term is used to describe the communal nest of the Common Ringtail Possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus), pictured left.

Ringtail possums are distributed along the east coast of Australia and also Tasmania. Unlike Common Brushtail Possums that are solitary creatures preferring tree hollows to sleep in, Ringtails are gregarious in nature and prefer to live in dreys, spherical structures made out of tree branches and sticks and lined with leaves and bark.

The drey is well camouflaged and is usually built in a sheltered place high in a tree (pictured right). It can vary in size from a soccer ball to a metre in diameter. Several individuals including offspring inhabit a drey with family groups inhabiting dreys in close proximity to each other.

The entrance is a small ‘possum-sized’ hole in the side of the structure and if you’re lucky you may just get a glimpse of the inhabitants inside (see below).