Possum clinging to buoy off Australian coast rescued

March 30 (UPI) -- An Australian scuba instructor teamed up with reserve rangers to rescue a possum spotted clinging to a buoy near a pier.

The Whitecliffs Foreshore Reserve said in an Instagram post that rangers responded to a report of a possum seen hanging onto a buoy near Portsea Pier in Victoria's Mornington Peninsula.

Luke English, who runs the RedBoats scuba diving business in Portsea, was at the pier at the time the rangers responded and offered to give them a ride to the possum on his boat.

"That was the first and last possum I will ever see on a mooring in Portsea," English told 9 News. "It was hilarious."

The possum became spooked when the vessel approached and jumped into the water, but the rangers were able to ensnare the animal with a net.

The marsupial was examined by a veterinarian and released back into the wild -- on dry land -- in the evening.

English said the possum had likely been nesting on a boat and panicked when the vessel started to move, ending up in the water.