Perth Zoo has been forced to retract its statements by outraged members of the public after it referred to a possum as a “pest” following Saturday’s viral video that saw an orang-utan forcibly throwing a marsupial out of its enclosure.
The backtrack follows statements made by a Perth Zoo spokesperson on Monday, who said “it is impossible to eradicate all pests completely” and that “sometimes the orang-utans evict the odd possum themselves”.
“Obviously the loss of any living creature saddens us, but [it is] also nature playing out,” they added on Monday.
However, the remarks set off a swarm of backlash from people online disagreeing with the pest statement.
“Wow, nice comment from a spokesperson for a zoo that supposedly protects all living animals,” one person wrote.
“Captive animals is not nature playing out. How disgusting!,” another user wrote.
“Pests?” one commenter questioned. “Are possums not native Australian marsupials?”
The public backlash prompted a further statement from a Perth Zoo spokesperson, who told Yahoo News Australia on Tuesday it was not their “intent” to cause offence.
“While they do pose a management challenge for us on site because of their large numbers, our outdoor environment, abundance of food and bedding, it is not appropriate to refer to them as a ‘pest’ in the same way we would consider introduced black rats as a pest,” they said.
The spokesperson also explained how the marsupial ended up in the enclosure.
“Our animal experts have confirmed that the possum took advantage of the cosy warm orang-utan nest during the cooler weather, and on this occasion, the orang-utan was alarmed to find an unknown occupant in their bed,” they said.
Easing the minds of many anxious commenters, the spokesperson also clarified that the brushtail possum is alive and well.
“Rest assured the possum was sighted scurrying off after being evicted from the nest. They are a very robust species [and] we love possums as much as we love orang-utans.”