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In Western Australian residential neighborhoods, critically endangered marsupials have made themselves at home in private gardens. These urban environments act as a much-needed refuge, as their habitats have been reduced by human activity and natural predators.

Western ringtail possums (Pseudocheirus occidentalis) are nocturnal, cat-sized creatures that live in trees and shrubs and eat leaves and fruit. They once ranged over much of south-western Australia, but habitat loss and predation by invasive red foxes have dramatically reduced their range to three small enclaves.

These last remaining pockets overlap with the urban areas of Busselton, Manjimup and Albany in Western Australia. The possums frequently turn up in back gardens in these towns, dining on roses and the leaves and fruit from trees.

鈥淲e wanted to know if the habitat within gardens is sufficient for these animals to live exclusively in these areas, or whether they are still dependent on some natural habitat to survive,鈥� says Bronte Van Helden at the University of Western Australia in Albany.

She and her team targeted 16 private gardens in Albany, catching possums by exploiting their sweet tooth 鈥� they baited traps with almond meal soaked in strawberry essence. The researchers captured 20 possums and fitted them with radio-transmitter collars before releasing them. For the next three months, the team tracked signals from the collars to work out where the animals were moving and how much they were using the gardens versus nearby bushland.

Surprisingly, none of the possums ever left the private gardens. They hopped between multiple gardens, feeding primarily on non-native plants like avocado trees, which made up the bulk of the garden flora.

Van Helden says the results suggest that 鈥済ardens may contain sufficient resources to support wildlife鈥� like these possums, and that such areas shouldn鈥檛 be overlooked as valuable habitat.

Katherine Moseby at the University of New South Wales in Sydney says she wonders whether the species can successfully breed and raise young entirely within gardens.

鈥淸The findings] really highlight the importance of people managing their gardens to be wildlife friendly 鈥� no cats outside, dogs inside at least at night, planting certain trees and putting up nest boxes,鈥� she says. These are all 鈥渞elatively easy things to do鈥�, says Moseby, but often there is a resistance to such measures, especially pet containment.

Deciphering how to mitigate threats to the possums within residential areas is Van Helden鈥檚 next step, since dogs, cats and busy roads all pose dangers to these back garden boarders.