Monday 3 June 2013

Tails of the Unexpected.

  I love Possums.  To me they represent an endearing resilience, a capacity to survive and adapt to the urbanisation of their habitat, against all odds.   
 
 In Sydney’s “Northern Beaches” area, we have three kinds of possum the “Common Brushtail”, which prefers to live in tree hollows formed by mature eucalypts, the smaller “Ringtail”, which generally builds its own nest (called a drey) out of twigs and leaves and the tiny endangered Eastern Pygmy Possum, listed as “vulnerable in NSW. These cute marsupials are vestiges of the incredible rich diversity of wildlife that was here prior to European colonisation. A fascinating glimpse of what once existed can be found in the Natural History Museum’s First Fleet Artwork Collection (Port Jackson Paintings, Flora and fauna).  Here we can see long lost inhabitants such as the Potoroo, Dingo, Yellow Bellied Glider, Marsupial Mice, Emu and the now totally extinct White Footed Tree Rat.


 Even until fairly recently we still had small remnant populations of Platypus and Koalas on the Northern Beaches that eventually couldn’t cope with city living any longer and gradually disappeared.  Miraculously, Possums are still here, as a living reminder of our wilder past, despite being vilified by some. (Perhaps there’s a fur envy thing going on?) Possums, being nocturnal, are active at night, which accounts for their protruding eyes and shy disposition. The greatest enemies of the Possum are the cat and the car. So please, drive carefully and keep your moggie in at night. The average domestic cat kills 25 native animals a year and even if a captured possum seems unharmed, it is likely to die within 36 hours from shock or from toxins carried in the cat’s saliva.
If you find an injured possum please call Sydney Wildlife’s Rescue Hot line on 9413 4300 or WIRES on 1300 094 73    Sydney Wildlife website


The Brushtail Possum (a protected species in NSW)
To make a Possum feel really at home, why not locate a nesting box in your own backyard? Ask Sydney Wildlife or WIRES for details or Google “Possum Box Design” to find a plan and make your own.