Orang-utan hurls possum intruder from Perth Zoo enclosure

The orang-utan was filmed dealing with an errant marsupial invading its zoo enclosure, leaving some zoo visitors shocked.

An unfortunate possum has inadvertently experienced the miracle of flight after being forcibly ejected from an orang-utan enclosure by one of its inhabitants at Perth Zoo.

An individual quick on their mobile phone managed to catch a short video of the incident, uploading it to social media website Reddit on Saturday night.

The vision starts with the great ape in mid-throw, having captured the marsupial shortly before the Reddit user started filming.

The short clip shows the orang-utan flinging the marsupial from its perch, then jumping up to inspect its handiwork. Picture: Reddit

The possum can be seen sailing through the air, spinning as it travels, landing somewhere outside the walls of the orang-utan’s tall outdoor exhibit, designed to mimic their Southeast Asian rainforest habitat.

A crowd of onlookers can be heard gasping and screaming; “oh my God!” exclaims one witness, before the group bursts out laughing.

The cannon-armed orang-utan, meanwhile, jumps up to survey its handiwork.

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A Perth Zoo spokesperson says while they do their best to keep wildlife out of enclosures, “it’s not always possible to stop them.”

“The orang-utan habitat is an outside environment and possums, who also live at height, just like the orang-utans, have been known to inhabit the above-ground territories,” the spokesperson said.

“While every effort is made to prevent them from entering, the sheer height provides some challenges and sometimes the orang-utans evict the odd possum themselves.”

Perth Zoo says while they do their best to keep wild creatures out of enclosures, the outdoor nature of some habitats makes it hard. Picture: Supplied / Perth Zoo

The spokesperson also said the possum survived its aeronautic adventure.

“This is horrifying and I can‘t stop laughing,” reads one comment on the original Reddit post.

“That was like an Olympics level discus throw,” said another.

The Perth Zoo orang-utans are Sumatran orang-utans (scientific name Pongo abelii) which is listed as a critically endangered species.