The sounds of this species is one of the many scary sounds in the Australian bush at night and often freaks people out when they hear it for the first time! Apart from these growling calls, Common Brushtail Possums make other sounds including loud shrieks and harsh rasping calls.
The Brushtail Possum moves rapidly among trees and will leap from one branch to another. Brushtail Possums use a range of sounds including screams, hissing and growling which are frequent, particularly in mating season.
High-pitched squeals and screaming: these are heard when possums are fighting.
These include “grunting, growling, hissing, screeching, clicking and teeth-chattering calls, many of which would not be out of place on a horror movie soundtrack”. Common brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) live across much of suburban Australia.
Opossums are usually silent. If you hear one, it will be at night. These pests will make clicking noises when they're trying to attract mates and hissing or growling sounds when they feel threatened. Baby opossums make noises that sound like sneezing when trying to get their parent's attention.
Male limpkins are well known for producing a repetitive, high-pitched wail or scream that sounds remarkably human-like when it wakes you up in the dead of night.
Sooty Owls
The Greater Sooty Owl is native to the south-eastern forests of Australia and is nocturnal, spending its days in tree hollows, caves and under rock overhangs. Its typical call is known as a 'falling bomb whistle', a short, descending screech or shriek that can be heard over long distances.
Possums aren't aggressive, however, they do have the tendency to eat whatever they can and take shelter anywhere they feel safe, including inside the household roof.
The main difference between an Australian possum and an American opossum is that possums are native to Australia, are furry and have bushy tails, and eat mostly vegetation. American opossums are native to Central and North America, are gray and white and are omnivorous scavengers.
Here's a tip: Opossums and possums are different animals. Opossums live in North and South America, while possums live in Australia and other countries.
Foxes are mostly nocturnal, so you'll see (and hear) them mostly at night. A scream is the most common sound you'll hear from them. When foxes scream, it can be alarming as it sounds like a human scream.
They are known for their distinctive hissing and growling sounds, which they use to defend themselves when they feel threatened. Opossums may also make other sounds, such as snarling, growling, and chattering, when they are agitated or excited.
Katydids and crickets are excellent examples of nighttime noise-making insects. These insects, which belong to the same Order (Orthoptera) make noises in similar ways: by rubbing their wings together. These insects usually make their high pitched chirping noise at night to attract mates or to warn off predators.
Handle with care
Remember: brush-tailed possums are wild animals and although they look cute and cuddly they can bite and scratch severely, especially when injured or afraid.
Most possums make loud screaming and screeching calls when attacked or handled.
Those exposed to the bacteria through bites and scratches to their skin will also develop an ulcer at the wound. "If you have become unwell with these symptoms after recently touching a possum, especially if you were bitten or scratched, it is important to seek medical treatment early," Ms Glasgow said.
Opossums also keep rats and cockroaches at bay by competing with them for food. In fact, it's common for opossums to kill cockroaches and rats if they find them in their territory." Not only do they take care of pests, they do so without spreading disease to humans.
While it is unlikely for possums to transmit rabies, they are known disease carriers. Their bodies harbour germs and pathogens that can cause illnesses. Leptospirosis is one of the diseases transmitted through the urine or other body fluids of infected possums. The disease is harmful to both pets and humans.
Even with other possums they just stare at each other with erect ears to defend their territory. On occasion they can bear their teeth but this teeth-bearing threat display is just for show. Playing dead is another possum trick. If trapped however, possums will defend themselves just like any other animal.
“Opossums are shy, harmless animals who are the size of an average housecat,” says Lynsey White, director of humane wildlife conflict resolution for The Humane Society of the United States. “They do not pose any danger to people or pets and [they] want to avoid [us] if they can.”
Opossums do not prey on cats or other larger mammals but will attack them if cornered, or if competing for food.
The Common Brushtail Possum's main predators include Dingoes, pythons, foxes and cats.
Porcupines can sound like babies in the dark, video shows | Centre Daily Times.
If you hear any scratching noise at night, or a tapping noise in your walls and roof, well they're probably rats chewing on your electrical wiring and plumbing, which can cause a house fire if left untreated.
B08h40a A small cicada species with an interesting high-pitched rattling call, the Southern Spotted Cicada (Gelidea torrida) is found in Tasmania [the taxa there is known as the Tasmanian Ticker!) and a few locations along the coast of Victoria.