Live Possum Found Hiding Among Stuffed Animals in Australian Airport Retail Store

(SeaPRwire) –   It was a case of playing dead — or being a stuffed animal.

Among plush kangaroos, dingoes and Tasmanian devils ready to be bought by parents of restless children, a live brushtail possum waited in a gift shop at an Australian airport this week.

The wild animal was first noticed by a shopper in the store on Wednesday, said Liam Bloomfield, retail manager of Hobart Airport in Tasmania.

“A passenger reported it to …. one of the staff members on shift who couldn’t quite believe what she was hearing,” Bloomfield told The Associated Press. “She then called the (airport) management and said we’ve got a possum in the store.”

Staff at the airport were able to remove the animal without harming it.

“I’m imaging it saw some of the plush animals that were for sale on the shelf and it decided to make its home with those,” Bloomfield joked about why the possum was hiding with the stuffed toys. “It wanted to blend in.”

“Can you spot the imposter?” the airport wrote Thursday in a Facebook post that showed the possum curled up in a cubby with its stuffed counterparts.

“This cheeky lost possum found a clever hiding place among the Aussie plushies in our retail store,” the airport continued. “Luckily it was safely relocated out of the terminal area and the space was cleaned.”

Bloomfield said the possum not only found a way into the airport but also their hearts.

“We’ll have a little shrine to the possum,” he revealed, according to The Independent. “There will be a nice little photo; once it gets a name, we will put a nice little post in front of the store to make sure it’s remembered.”