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Gliding possums dumped in box outside supermarket

Five sisters zoo Close-up of one of the sugar gliders in a cardboard box. It is grey with black stripes, big ears and big, black eyes. It is sitting on a yellow blanket and is looking up at the camera.Five sisters zoo
The sugar gliders were found abandoned in a box outside a Lidl shop

Six possums are being cared for at a zoo in West Lothian after being found abandoned outside a Lidl supermarket.

The sugar gliders - which have a thin membrane of skin creating "wings" allowing them to glide through tree tops - are native to Australia.

A spokeswoman for the Five Sisters Zoo in West Calder, where the animals are currently in a 30-day quarantine, said they had been found "cruelly discarded" and were "vulnerable and exposed to the elements".

The zoo said they were likely to be exotic pets that someone could no longer care for.

The animals were not in a particularly poor condition when they were found last month.

But a zoo spokeswoman said that as they were a tropical species "being left to fend for themselves in the harsh Scottish winter in the middle of February did not give them the best chance of survival".

The zoo's head of carnivores Gary Curran said: "When we heard about this shocking case involving the abandoned sugar gliders, we really wanted to do something to help.

"Given the circumstances in which these animals were found, they seem to be recovering well, but we will continue to assess their health throughout their 30-day quarantine period, where they will hopefully move into a new habitat where they will be on show for our visitors."

He added: "Helping in cases like this is very much how Five Sisters Zoo was started back in 2005.

"While nowadays we are more likely to rescue a lion or a bear, we remain committed to our rescue efforts and are always eager to help wherever we can."

Five Sisters Zoo Six sugar gliders huddled in a cardboard box. They are grey with black stripes, big ears and big, black eyes. They are sitting on a yellow blanket and one of them is looking up at the camera.Five Sisters Zoo
The sugar gliders were found abandoned in a box

Over the years, the zoo has provided a home for rescued animals, including bears and lions saved from traveling circuses, roadside restaurants, and warzones.

A number of exotic or unusual animals have been on the loose in Scotland in recent months.

Earlier this year, four lynx were captured after being on the loose in the Highlands and a number of feral pigs were caught and killed after being spotted about five miles from the area where the lynx were found.

And last year a Japanese macaque monkey escaped from the Highland Wildlife Park at Kincraig, near Aviemore, and was found by a woman in her garden.