Leadbeater's possums

·       The Leadbeater’s possum, Victoria’s fauna emblem, is now an endangered animal.

·       After the 2009 bushfires there were less than 1000 left

·       Also after the 2009 bushfires they had only 40-50% of their habitat left, and that is the only area in the world where they are found.

·       Because of lack of sightings the Leadbeater’s possum was thought to be extinct for 52 years.  


 A very cute Leadbeaters possum!

Habitat

·       Most possums like to live in areas with lots of trees.

·       While there are a lot of possums in south east Australia and Tasmania, the population is lower in other parts of the country

·       Brushtail possums will use just about any hollows as a home

food

•       Most possum’s favourite foods are native leaves, flowers and fruit, but they also like to eat bananas and pawpaw.

•        Brushtail possums main diet are leaves and most have toxins inside them, Brushtail possums have a high tolerance to plant toxins.

•       Brushtail possums also like to eat parasitic plants like mistletoe. If mistletoe spreads it can kill a eucalyptus tree, so the possums are protecting the trees that provide them with shelter.

Simple ways to prevent possums entering your home

• Make sure that all entry points are closed or blocked off.
• Make sure your roof tiles aren't loose and that there aren't any holes the size of a tennis ball or larger for a possum to enter through.
• Trim any branches that are hanging over the roof.

Thanks, Miki Bluethorn

Good news

The council has decided that they are not going to be culling the possums and are considering other options. Hooray!

More updates soon,

Miki Bluethorn.

Did you know?

That the Yara city council has said that possums are harming the elm's, but last year the same trees where being cut down in Curtain Square!

Possums also are beneficial to native trees, as they help to protect them by eating and preventing the spread of fast-spreading weeds.

Possums now occupy only about a third of the amount of land that they started out with, and have mostly disappeared from western and central Australia.

When the Tasmanian tiger problem was going on it resembled the possum problem. One of the last Tasmanian tiger hunters said "Why did you want to go and protect those useless things," and now they are extinct.

Most possums will die if moved to a new habitat, and if they are moved the young will often go to another vacated area.

Miki Bluethorn

Think about it

         

Look how cute these possums are. Do you really want our native animals in Australia to be culled for no good reason?

If we don't help stop the culling they will probably end up looking
like this:

                             



So think about it, see which one you think is better, having our native animals killed for our sake of having a goods night sleep, or finding a humane option and giveing back something for the huge amount of land that we have stole from them in the last few years.



                                            sincerely Miki Bluethorn