An aggressive orangutan shocked zoo-goers after it "launched" a brave possum from the top of its enclosure.
Visitors to Perth Zoo in Western Australia were horrified and could be heard screaming as the ape hurled the small animal into the air from a tall metal tower after it got too close.
A video showing the incident has since gone viral, showing the possum seemingly vanish before a witness shouts: "Oh my god!"
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The large creature then exits the enclosure and appears to be looking for the possum's landing spot.
Speaking of the unusual occurrence, a Perth Zoo official told Yahoo! News Australia: "I would presume it [the possum] did not survive the fall. Obviously the loss of any living creature saddens us, but also nature playing out."
The person who initially posted the footage to Reddit has since revealed the orangutan had been "throwing the possum around on the ground" before chasing the marsupial up the metal tower and "poking it with a stick".
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They claimed the possum landed in another exhibit, home to two more orangutans.
Commenting on the video, many social media users were sympathetic to the ape, while others felt sorry for its victim.
"I know tenants are having a hard time paying the rent… but this eviction is a bit rough," one wrote, while another chimed in: โBloody hell, that was like an Olympics level discus throw.โ
Meanwhile a third added: "I'm currently working at evicting two possums from living in my soffetts. Do you know if that orangutan does house calls?"
Someone else, however, spared a thought for the small, furry mammal, writing: โAww poor possum.โ
The zoo official added that possums are pests in the region and "sometimes local wildlife manage to sneak in[to]" the exhibits, meaning the zoo's inhabitants will sometimes have to deal with intruders themselves.
"The orangutan habitat is an outside environment, and possums, who also live at height, just like the orangutans, have been known to inhabit the above-ground territories," the official explained.
"Whilst every effort is made to catch and remove them, the sheer height provides some challenges and sometimes the orangutans evict the odd possum themselves."
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