Moment a Londoner finds a gliding POSSUM scuttling around his bedroom after the exotic creature swooped in through an open window as he slept
A Londoner had a rude awakening when an exotic gliding possum startled noisily scuttling around his bedroom after swooping in through an open window.
John Zou, 27, woke up in his Holborn flat by the scampering rodent at around 5am on Monday morning.
After initially thinking the creature was a rat, he was shocked to discover that his intruder was a nocturnal sugar glider, usually found in Australia.
Mr Zou took a video of the possum which had travelled to London and showed it looking around his room - apparently flummoxed by its surroundings.
The Holborn possum is feared to have escaped or been abandoned by a previous owner
John Zou, 27, found the scampering marsupial in his sixth-floor flat on Monday morning
Mr Zou said: 'I was asleep and woke up to the noise of something running around the bedroom.
'I was scared it might be a rat but when I went to investigate I found this little creature.
'I didn't know it was a sugar glider so I sent photos to some friends and they helped me to identify it.'
Mr Zou called the RSPCA when he discovered the marsupial and the charity sent an inspector the next day who took the displaced animal to a specialist keeper in Cambridgeshire.
The footage, filmed by Mr Zou, shows the displaced possum exploring his new surroundings
The sugar glider appeared flummoxed by unfamiliar surrounding in the sixth floor flat
While he waited, he provided the creature with the sugary fruit from which it gets its name.
Sugar gliders, named after their love of sweet treats and their ability to soar more than 50 metres from tree to tree, are native to Australia, New Guinea and parts of Indonesia.
The RSPCA fear this particularly adventurous flying possum was kept as a pet which either escaped or was sadly abandoned.
The possum was eventually taken to a specialist caretaker in Cambridgeshire by the RSPCA
Inspector Francesca Tambini said: 'Sugar gliders look incredibly cute and this little guy is adorable.
'It's easy to see why people might be tempted to buy them as pets but we would urge them to reconsider; these animals need very specialist care and we don't believe they are suitable as pets.
'I expect this little guy is an escaped pet or has been abandoned locally before turning up on this man's balcony.
'Unfortunately, we do see these sorts of animals being abandoned from time-to-time when their owners realise how difficult it is to meet their needs in a household environment.
Mr Zou had initially feared that scampering sounds were coming from an intrusive ratShare
'They are nocturnal animals who need to be allowed to sleep during the day and to be awake and active at night.
'They must be fed an appropriate diet and be provided with UVB light in captivity, to prevent metabolic bone disease.
'They are arboreal, meaning they spend their lives up in the trees, and can glide for 50m or more, which would be extremely difficult to provide for in a typical home.
'They're also incredibly sociable so should never be kept on their own, and can live for over 10 years.'
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