When was the possum introduced

Short horizontal bark biting on bark are most likely to be possum. Possums chew bark as a way to mark territory and they often use the same tree year after year. You should be able to see two parallel lines with a narrow higher strip in between left by the gap between the middle incisor teeth on the upper jaw.

If the two incisor marks are wider than 5mm it is most likely a possum. You might also see claw scratches as they climb up and down — scratches from claws often wrap around the trunk on a slant. Many other species bite bark, but mostly more up and down. The tooth-marks of possums are also quite different to that of other species. Check out the other species and other vegetation sign to make sure.

Other culprits are; fallow deer, red deer, rusa deer, sambar deer, sika deer, white-tailed deer, rabbit, hare, Norway rat, ship rat, kiore, mouse, cat, feral pig, and feral goat. Possums are messy eaters and the ground beneath a tree is often littered with partially eaten leaves. They only eat the leaf-stalks of some species, like fivefinger.

Possum preferred species include pohutukawa, rata, kohekohe, tree fuchsia, totara, mahoe, heketara, toro, tutu, mamaku, kamahi, pahautea, pine exotic and many other species. Many other species like deer, goats and farm animals. Insects can also damage leaves. Possums love fruits and flowers. Look for chew marks: if the width of the incisor marks is greater than 5 mm then possums are the most likely culprit.

Possums particularly like fruits with lots of energy and nutrients, like tawa, taraire, puriri, kohekohe, kahikatea, karaka, five-finger, kiekie, nikau fleshy stem only , and hinau.

Possums like the rind on citrus fruit including lemons! Surprisingly perhaps they also like the seeds inside rewarewa capsules. Sometimes possums eat so many of the flowers that the plants never have a chance to set fruit. Rats and mice. If the incisor marks are wider than 5 mm it is most likely possum, between 5 and 2 mm one of the rat species, and less than 2 mm a mouse. However, juvenile possum teeth can make marks very similar to rat teeth. Larger mammals will likely swallow the fruit whole.

Fruit can also be damaged by native birds such as kaka, kea, kakariki and exotic birds such as rosella. Flowers can also be eaten by native birds such as kaka, kea, kakariki and exotic birds such as rosella.

Flowers in the understorey can be eaten by fallow deer, red deer, rusa deer, sambar deer, sika deer, white-tailed deer, Norway rat, ship rat, kiore, feral pig, and feral goat. Small bird prey remains may include chewed feathers, and regurgitated feather and bone remains. Eggshell and other material are sometimes chewed into a 'pellet' that is coughed up.

Birds and nestlings often are only partially eaten, favoured areas being the head and chest, with wing and rear being less favoured. Possums are known to scavenge on deer and pig carcasses and are often caught in traps baited with rabbit meat to catch ferrets or stoats. Scavenging carcasses is thought to be one way that bovine TB is spread between animals. Possums are opportunistic feeders and possibly may eat lizards and frogs if they can catch them but there are no confirmed records of this occurring..

The messy feeding sign can be confused with that of ship rat or other rodents, and mustelids like stoats. A key differentiator may be the presence or absence of feather and bone or eggshell 'pellets' produced by possums. Stoats often kill with a distinctive bite mark to the back of the head and prefer to drag their prey under cover.

Remember, too, that animal remains might have been scavenged. Possums eat large New Zealand land snails by biting through the shell and pulling the snail out. They eat snails like Wainuia , Powelliphanta and Placostylus , which include many rare species. Rats also prey on snails but they leave smaller teeth marks and a smaller hole.

Pigs tend to completely crush larger shells and swallow smaller shells whole. Weka peck neat holes through the central whorl of the shell to access the meat. Thrushes kill and eat only small snails, leaving shatter holes a hole with breaks and shell fragments radiating out from it through the outer whorl.

Hedgehog sign is similar to that of thrushes. Possums leave relatively whole but crushed eggshells. The edges of the shell are pushed inwards. They are suspected of predating on kiwi eggs. One egg had an mm hole chewed in the top or side of egg. Rats, but they leave numerous small fragments and jagged edged shells.

Stoats and ferrets, but they tend to create a hole rather than crush the egg and the edge of the hole will be serrated. Remember, too, that egg remains might have been scavenged. On chewcards, possums will typically leave extensively crushed margins in which individual bite marks may or may not be evident.

Other species can also crush chewcard margins so look for distinct tooth impressions that are identifiably possum. Look in and around the crushed areas and margins of the chewcard for the characteristic tooth marks — pairs of incisor tooth impressions with a distinctive 'medial notch' in the middle, made by the gap between the two teeth. Typically the incisor pairs are 4. Possums can produce a range of other bite mark sign depending on the angle and strength of chewing.

The links below provide guidance on these variations. Rats, rabbits, hares, hedgehogs and kea can also crush chewcard margins. The incisor tooth marks of rats, rabbits and hares can be confused with those of possum. For further guidance, including numerous illustrated examples, see the Manaaki Whenua — Landcare Research chewcard interpretation guide and other more technical identification guides.

Possums occur in a wide range of habitats from open country to deep in the forest, from rain forest to arid areas but tend to be rare at high altitudes mountain tops.

Possums have multiple scent glands including a red-brown gland on the chest between the front legs sternal , near their bottoms and in the pouch region.

They commonly rub these glands on the bases of tree trunks, or mix the scent with urine or droppings, to mark territory. They can release different scents when scared or handled, and will often release urine or droppings too. The sternal gland on the chest has a sweetish musky odour. One pair of anal bottom glands contain a white substance with a penetrating acid smell rather like pickled onions.

A second pair of anal glands secrete cells suspended in a clear viscid fluid, but have no distinctive odour. Possums are mostly solitary but make a range of noises at night when there are other possums around including screeches, grunts, growls, hisses and chatters aggressive , zook-zook noises and squeaks with dependent juveniles, and males make shook-shook and clicking noises when courting a female.

When possums fight with each other they will leave tufts of hair behind. Possum fur is very soft and luxurious the reason why they were introduced into NZ. In colour it is grey or dark brown on the head, back and tail and white or dirty yellow on the belly. However, possums come in grey and dark forms and there also are occasional albino animals.

The fur is about cm in length with a dense cushioned undercoat. The possum fur is much prized because it doesn't shed and is anti-static. The hair has a hollow structure which helps to store heat it is the third warmest fur in the world and is combined with merino wool to make a fibre that is used for making clothes. Possums are nocturnal only come out at night and if you shine a torch in the trees at night you might see their large eyes reflecting a red light.

Possums have a furry body, with a long prehensile can hold on to things bushy tail for climbing. They have a pointed snout with pink nose and long dark whiskers and brown eyes. The large pointed ears are furless on the inside.

Possum fur is fluffy grey or dark brown on the head, back and tail and white or dirty yellow on the belly and there are several colour forms [link to fur]. Mature possums have a brown stain the sternal gland between their front legs. The front legs are shorter than the hind legs. Front paws are rather hand-like, and rear paws rather longer with a pair of fused digits. They stay in the pouch for at least days. Males and females are similar in size; between and mm, including a tail of to mm.

That is about the size of a cat. Adults weigh between 1. Possums are nocturnal and come out of their dens about 30 minutes after sunset. The main feeding activity tends to occur about two hours after they have come out of the den. Sick animals can sometimes been seen in the afternoon. Heavy rain may delay possums from leaving their dens. Possums live in dens. They prefer to den in holes above the ground like hollow tree branches or trunks, ceiling cavities of buildings, but can also den at or below ground level in holes or beneath vegetation and structures on the ground..

A possum can have several dens, and can change dens several times per night. The dens are not exclusive; more than one possum may use it, but preferably not at the same time. This means that in areas of possum trapping you are more likely to catch a male wandering in from adjacent areas. Heavier possums are dominant the boss over smaller ones, and females tend to be dominant over similar sized or smaller males. We need to get back to the idea that all animals are sentient beings and they do not deserve a cruel death — even possums.

Australian brushtail possums were introduced to New Zealand in by settlers who hoped to establish a roaring trade in possum fur. However the animals quickly got out of control because they faced no natural predators in New Zealand.

They had a devastating impact on bird life, competing for food and habitat resources, and climbing into nests to eat eggs and fledglings. They also destroyed native trees with their strong paws, especially rata, totara, titoki, kowhai and kohekohe. Poisoning possums is a controversial method in New Zealand because many of the most commonly used poisons — including — can take hours or even days to kill.

For farmers shooting is the best method. They are pretty cool animals. Once you start looking, the damage to the crowns of the trees is obvious. Tonight, three of us are out to do some spotlighting. The little beam of my torch throws out just enough light to show us our way. Suddenly, a noise. Something is running up a tree. We all stop in our tracks. Mounted underneath the barrel of the rifle, a. A big grey trunk is all we can see. And true, possums do get spotlight-shy.

A big moth is attracted by the light, and casts eerie shadows on the trees. After we compose ourselves, I shine the light into the branches of the old puriri again, and there it is. I bring the rifle up to my shoulder, take aim and pull the trigger. The animal hits the ground with a thump.

We walk over to examine the carcass. In the north, with its warmer climate, abundant food supply and lower possum density, as many as 80 per cent of the females breed twice a year. In the Orongorongo Valley, east of Wellington, live the most-studied possums in the country. They control the home ranges, and hand them down from mother to daughter. New Zealand possums are a pretty unsociable lot.

Apart from the occasional hissing, paw-slashing scrap when animals cross paths, each individual keeps to itself for most of the year. The exception is during the mating season, when young bucks will be competing for available females. While possums generally go out of their way to avoid each other, they have no interest in defending a large territory for the sake of it.

They do, however, advertise their presence by rubbing trees with their scent glands particularly glands under the chin and a large gland on the sternum which produces a distinctive stripe on the fur. The tiny honey possum, by comparison, is no bigger than a mouse.

Aboriginal legend connects the possum to the man in the moon. Once upon a time, so the story goes, Moonan, a warrior, and his sons went hunting for witchetty grubs. The moon shone bright in the night sky, and they soon came across a big tree where they hoped to find many grubs. Moonan climbed to the top of the tree, and to his great joy found that he could reach the moon. As his sons rocked the tree in their excitement, he nearly fell out of the branches, and to save himself he clambered on to the moon.

The sons quickly climbed the tree after him, but by the time they reached the top the moon had drifted away. Ever since, when the moon is bright, the sons climb trees to find their father. Through the ages they have grown sharp claws on their fingers, and a long tail from their spine.

They have become possums. Perhaps the story needs a New Zealand ending, I wonder, as I walk along the forest track under my own moonlit sky, spotlight at the ready. One where Moonan comes back to earth, finds out what his sons have done, and shoots every last one of them. Well, we can dream. New Zealand at that time was just a nondescript bulge on the backside of Gondwanaland, the huge southern super-continent. As the first marsupials were testing their pouches, Gondwanaland was breaking up.

One section of it, the piece which would become Australia, New Zealand and Antarctica, got most of the marsupials, but the large rafts that today we know as the Americas also carried off a fair few, and Latin America still has a rich marsupial fauna. Perhaps the only American marsupial of which most of us have heard, however, is the opossum, because it is the only marsupial in the United States.

There it is a relative newcomer, having moved north via Central America in the last , years. When they have cleared all the food out of an area, they just move on. Young weaners, and especially males, emigrate to new turf, but once they have chosen their patch they usually stay there for life.

There may be 0. The area will contain a number of den sites, and animals seem to rotate around them. Two possums may share a den on occasion, but usually they are solitary animals.

Each night, feeding occupies several hours, mainly between dusk and midnight, and to a lesser extent towards dawn, with snacks in between. When food is very scarce they may feed during the day, but generally possums will starve to death in their area rather that move elsewhere. Breeding is another major difference between Trichosurus and Didelphis. Both have short gestation periods days and give birth to young which are smaller than a honeybee in size.

The female crouches with her tail forward to give birth. She licks a narrow track of fur from the vulva up to the pouch entry 10cm distance and the young emerge on to the base of the tail, then clamber up the wet fur path into the pouch. Back legs are rudimentary paddles, and ears and eyes are completely lacking.

Once in the pouch the embryo attaches to a teat and sucks for about 70 days. Thereafter it releases the teat for increasing intervals. Mainly in the number of young produced. Usually only will be weaned the mother usually has 13 teats but it is an impressive difference. Of course, it is linked to other distinctions in life history. The major one is longevity. The US opossum is usually dead by the age of two, but well within that time the female will have raised two litters totalling 18 or more young.

Life locally is comparatively leisurely. Most possums breed only once a year, in the autumn, although where conditions are particularly lush they may breed a second time in spring. Thereafter, young gradually become more independent, first following the mother and then living separately within her range.

Males usually play no part in raising the joey. However, either sex will willingly carry a young orphan on its back. In one study, 35 per cent of tagged animals died in accidents with vehicles.

While more than a few perish that way here, too, our absence of predators makes life pretty safe for the brushtail possum. In Australia, dingoes, foxes, lace monitors, snakes and owls hold numbers down to such a low level that the species has had to be protected by law.

Were it not for the thick, luxurious crop of fur that possums carry on their backs they would never have been introduced to New Zealand at all. When, in , Captain J Howell liberated the first batch of brushtail possums near Invercargill, the reason was simple: to establish a fur trade in the fledgling colony.

Compared with greys, blacks are generally bigger, and are more common in wetter areas. As furs go, possum is middle-of-the-road. It is not up there with mink, fox or chinchilla. Or it is made into coats locally.