Possums

 

We are about to take our final leave of New Zealand shores but somehow, I wouldn’t feel quite right if we left without mentioning one of the country’s most prolific inhabitants, the possum, or if you prefer, the opossum.  

The possum is a pest here, and a very serious one at that. They were introduced many years ago for the fur industry – their fur is unbelievably soft and gorgeous and, when mixed with merino wool, has created an industry of beautiful garments, especially anything to keep one warm and, don’t be fooled, New Zealanders need to have things to keep them warm – it gets mighty cold here.

Anyway, the poor possum is affectionately referred to as New Zealand’s natural little speed bumps.  They are nocturnal creatures and obviously not too bright as there are literally thousands to be found squashed on the roads every day.  Be that as it may, this does not go very far to eradicate a grave problem.  Possums breed like rabbits, eat everything in sight, destroy thousands of trees, kill the local bird population and generally, and understandably, are not very welcome here. 

Possum Trap

The Department of Conservation must spend millions of man hours (not to mention the millions of dollars) every year trying to get rid of these little blighters by laying traps and poison.  This is a prime example of what happens when man interferes and introduces a species that has no natural enemies.  The first possums were brought from Australia where they aren’t a problem as, in the natural chain of nature, they do have predators to keep them in check.  New Zealand has no poisonous or vicious anything – no snakes, no bitey spiders, no wild cats, no nothing other than a couple of small birds of prey – simply no contest.  Sadly, while laying poison in an attempt to control the situation, there is the inevitable collateral damage affecting other animals e.g. deer and domestic pets. 

Whoever finally comes up with a solution to this ongoing predicament, would either become an instantaneous local hero and/or incredibly wealthy.

These photos aren’t mine, 99.9% of the possums we’ve seen here are of the rather flattened variety but I just had to add some colour to this story.

Ya just  gotta smile!

  

Possum lined slippers

They can be quite cute

Possum & Merino socks

Possum Fur Blanket