A real possum appears among plush toy animals in Australian airport gift shop

MELBOURNE, Australia — Among the array of cuddly toy native animals in an Australian airport gift shop, one particular fluffy possum caught the attention of a passing passenger: Its big brown eyes were moving.

The unexpected sighting of a living Australian brushtail possum nestled among the kangaroos on display shelf at the departure terminal shop at Hobart Airport in Tasmania state on Wednesday took both staff and customers by surprise, as recounted by airport retail manager Liam Bloomfield on Thursday.

Surrounded by bilbies with their rabbit-like ears and dingoes, Australia’s native dog, the possum found itself in an unusual setting. A Tasmanian devil, the growling carnivore famously known as Taz, also shared the aisle with the possum in the kangaroo section.

The surprising discovery was made when a passenger reported the possum’s presence to a staff member, who initially found it hard to believe. Eventually, airport management was alerted, and efforts were made to safely remove the possum from the store.

Capturing the attention of onlookers, a staff member managed to film the possum before it decided to retreat from the limelight and exit the shop.

Fortunately, the possum was unharmed during its unexpected visit to the airport.

The reason behind the possum’s attraction to the toy shelf remains a mystery. Bloomfield humorously speculated that the possum may have wanted to blend in with the plush animals for sale.

The details of how the possum gained access to the store and how long it stayed there remain unknown.

It is unlikely that the possum was placed there as a prank, as it would have had to pass through security screening to enter the restricted departure terminal area.