My heart is swelling with pride as I write this. It turns out that the completely adorable ball of fur dubbed as the 'mysterious monkey' at China's Wenling Zoo turns out to be an Australian! Well, most likely anyway.

*insert song I Come From A Land Down Under*

The mysterious spotted creature that was dropped off at the Chinese zoo is in fact a type of possum most likely smuggled into the country as a novelty pet.

Keepers at Wenling Zoo in south-eastern China were initially confused by the bug-eyed, long-tailed critter, after it was handed in by an unknown man last week.

The story has made headlines around the world and the zoo keepers in China guessed it was a new species of monkey.

A Hong Kong animal enthusiast Danny Li contacted the zoo soon enough and informed them it was a spotted cuscus - a marsupial native to northern Australia, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia's Maluku Islands.

Dr Ashley Bunce from Queensland's Department of Environment and Resource Management pointed to the "distinctive facial features, fur colour and pattern" after examining photographs of the marsupial.

Wenling Zoo's manager is now seeking advice on how best to care for the 25cm-long cuscus. Cuscus..what a cute name!

Manager Wang Gang, 36, has stated that the keepers had built a small private enclosure for the cuscus and were feeding it pieces of fruit and grass.

"It was really scared when it arrived but its behaviour has improved a lot," Mr Wang told ninemsn.

"It is now fairly calm and doing well, even though I can see that it has not yet fully recovered."

It is hypothesised by the zoo manager that the cuscus was hand-reared or had been in close contact with humans as it was not afraid of keepers.

"It is quite friendly and enjoys interacting with the keeper," he said.

It is highly likely that the cuscus as abandoned by a wealthy owner who bought it on the black market before deciding they no longer wanted it, said Traffic Southeast Asia spokesman Chris Shepherd, whose organisation monitors the illicit trade in wildlife.

The uniquely adorable creatures are illegal to buy as pets in Australia(damn...I REALLY wanted one..*sigh*), according to Dr Sarah Legge, from the Australian Wildlife Conservatory, which protects cuscus on Queensland's Cape York Peninsula.

But Mr Shepherd said there is a booming black market that sees the marsupial smuggled into China from Australia, PNG and Maluka Islands throughout South East Asia.

He further explained that the demand for exotic pets in these countries has increased with rises in disposable income in the region.

"There's a demand for those odd novelty animals that no one else has," Mr Shepherd said.

In Australia, the spotted cuscus is a protected species and is most often found on Queensland's Cape York Peninsula. Queensland is also home to the southern common cuscus.

Wenling Zoo hopes to find a female cuscus to breed with its new inhabitant. That's a good move, to make sure it doesn't get lonely!

Hmmm...my mind is ticking away. I really want to help Cuscus escape. Let's give him the name Cuscus, sounds a little Moroccan doesn't it? As if this little critter needs to get any more exotic.

Think about it. An Austro-nesian marsupial finding itself in the Middle Kingdom(aka China) - doesn't get any more exotic than that! Or does it..?

I've been moping around today, feeling sorry for that poor little Cuscus hanging out in that jail - er, I meant zoo, in Asia. I really want the little critter to come home back to the land down under. I doubt our well meaning friends at Wenling zoo will let it go voluntarily. So to that end, I've decided on utilising my telepathic skills to communicate with it and help it escape.

Now Cuscus, your short lived identity crisis is over. I bet you were smugly chewing away at the fresh Chinese fruits and grass with the knowledge that you've been causing world headlines.

I've asked around the office and here are ideas my colleagues came up with to help you flee China and return back to Australia. I've worked it all out for you, in steps.

1. Use your creativity to create a fake you with orange peelings and cotton from women's dresses and leave it in a corner of the enclosure, make it look like it is sleeping.

2. Hop on a train(don't get squished by high heels) and make your way to the Guangzho region of China, this is south so it meets the sea here.

3. Sneak onto a Chinese trading vessel or oil vessel visiting say northern Australia, like Darwin. Cover yourself in dark soot if you have to - that way you can pretend to be a lump of coal or something.

4. If you are caught by anyone try to barter your way out. By bartering I mean do a belly dance for them or something - anything to distract them.

5. When you arrive in Cape York, make sure to visit your family and say hi to everyone.

6. Find a hippie couple to give you a lift to Brisbane. Should take a few days.

7. Catch an interstate Greyhound Bus from Brisbane to Sydney - again, this will take a few days. There will be rest stops along the way.

8. When you get to Sydney, make sure to sneak into a train station and board a Cityrail train. Make sure you hide from the Transit Officers - they might fine you!

9. When you arrive in South West Sydney make sure to use your telepathy to give me a call. I'll come pick you up and take you to your new home! Once you get here you're going to enjoy the life of a celebrity. A-list parties, a movie about your life - the list is endless! Sydney is where the real fun begins!

Let me know if anything goes wrong with the plan, we'll work on it! We all pray for your safe return. See you soon!