Re: American possums

Wendy Bradley wrote:
> 
> Hi Tony--This is an American possum.  I live in Napa, California.  Our
> possums look like giant, lighter gray, fuzzy rats; naked tails, pointy
> little faces.  They're so damn ugly, they're cute, in a way. Sounds as
> though the Australian & New Zealand types cause alot of damage, but I
> don't know what to expect from their American cousins.  Wendy

Hi Wendy (and Susan - thanks for your contribution),

I can't help you in any way about the American possum. I have seen
pictures of them, and heard many tales of their predations in peoples'
gardens, but AFAIK, noone seems to have a satisfactory answer to them.

In NZ we have the Australian Brush-tailed possum, which was deliberately
introduced with the intention of forming the basis for a fur-trapping  
industry. It is true, the beast has a magnificent pelt, and - /pace/ the
animal rights people - anyone who buys an article made of possum fur is
helping NZ rid itself of a truly appalling pest.

There are now some 80M of them munching away in our forests. They have
the bad habit of concentrating their attention on a particular tree,
defoliating it so comprehensively that after a time the tree dies. Then
they move on to the next tree in line. Thus they are selectively
exterminating those of our native species that they find tasty.

In appearance, they are about the size of a large domestic cat, and not
very different in appearance. Stand-up ears like a cat and a long, very
bushy tail. Seen on a road in the dusk, it is easy to be unsure whether
you are seeing a possum or a cat. The genuinely glorious fur is usually
a dark brown, occasionally black, but there is quite a wide colour
variation.

Formally declared vermin in NZ, they are attacked in various ways.
Traps, poison (including large-scale aerial drops) and any other way
anyone can think of.

They are nocturnal and do come into the suburbs, where their favourite
food is probably roses, although some years ago we had a local "family"
that would walk past some roses to munch on the fresh spring foliage of
a large ornamental cherry tree. We bought a kill trap (looks like a
large rat trap in a yellow plastic box with a hole at the front for the
beast to put it's head in) and killed some two dozen over about 3 years
without ending the problem. Then one year we sprayed the new foliage
with a quassia bark "tea" (this is a weak insecticide, but apparently
has a terribly bitter taste) and this was successful in persuading the
possums that our tree was NOT good tucker! Other people have used fish
emulsion fertilizers for the same purpose with success.

Tony
-- 
Tony & Moira Ryan <theryans@xtra.co.nz>
Wainuiomata, New Zealand
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