Tuesday 29 April 2014

ABC Wednesday, P for Possum

 


Hiding in a shed in Gympie

A wellknown Australian animal is the Possum. It's an endangered species in Australia, in New Zealand however it is a pest and wrongfully introduced.


In its native land the possum is up against dingoes, bush fires and less palatable vegetation. In New Zealand there are no predators and lots of very palatable vegetation. As a result, possums have a huge impact on New Zealand ecosystems.

Photo by Steve Parish

Wikipedia.


A possum  is any of about 70 small to medium-sized  marsupial species, living in trees native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi (and introduced to New Zealand and China).

Possums are quadrupedal marsupials with two well developed front teeth and with long thick tails. The smallest possum, indeed the smallest diprotodont marsupial, is the Tasmanian pygmy possum, with an adult head-body length of 70 mm and a weight of 10 g. The largest is the bear cuscus that may exceed 7 kg.

 Possums are typically nocturnal and at least partly living in trees.. The various species inhabit most vegetated habitats, and several species have adjusted well to urban settings.

 Diets range from generalist herbivores or omnivores (the common brushtail possum) to specialist browsers of eucalyptus (greater glider), insectivores (mountain pygmy possum) and nectar-feeders (honey possum).


 With thanks to Denise Nesbitt , who created ABC. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar . This week we are looking for words beginning with P.

25 comments:

Sylvia K said...

I know they're probably a nuisance and cause problems of different kinds, but since I'm only looking at photos and from a distance, I think they are so cute!! Great post for the day as always, Wil!! Hope you have a wonderful week!!

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

http://ann-mythoughtsandphotos.blogspot.co.nz/2014/04/abc-wednesday-letter-p-for-possum.html you inspired me to do my possum story.

Cloudia said...

interesting facts, Wil




ALOHA from Honolulu
ComfortSpiral

=^..^= <3

Anonymous said...

What a lovely animal!

Indrani said...

Such bright big eyes. Very cute.
Glad to know more about them.

Roger Owen Green said...

too bad about the introduction of non-indigenous creatures in NZ

Leslie: said...

They're actually kind of cute with those big sad-looking eyes! Have a phantastic week, Wil.

leslie
abcw team

Lisa said...

I think they sometimes get a bad rap. I can't say I've every seen a live one. Very interesting tidbits of info on them! I think their eyes are amazing.

Hildred said...

What a sweet, shy looking creature, even if they do cause problems...

Pat - Arkansas said...

Your possums are cuter than our possums, which are downright mean looking critters, with tempers to match.

Maude Lynn said...

How cute!

Jane Hards Photography said...

To me they're adorable, but I'm a sucker for a cute critter.

Carver said...

Great shots of the possums and an interesting post.

So far I've been spared the bad storms (I live in central North Carolina). Thanks for asking. We have had a few tornado warnings this month but none have hit here so far.

Susan Moore said...

They look quite adorable! It's unfortunate they are such a problem in New Zealand.

AmitAag said...

Very interesting information! Nice post:)
http://amitaag.blogspot.in/2014/04/passage.html

Arnoldo L. Romero, MLA said...

We had a possum in our back alley last summer that would taunt my greyhound by crawling on the ledge of the back fence frequently. Although I'm not fond of them, I didn't want my dog to kill it because I figured he had a purpose in our local ecosystem. Blessings!

Anonymous said...

Very interesting post and such cute pictures of possum.

SamuraiFrog said...

Great pictures! I always thought these guys were so cute. I always had books about Australian mammals as a kid, I thought they were so fascinating.

Trubes said...

They certainly look cute those little old Possums, but without wishing to offend, they look like they could give a nasty bite ?
Hope you are well,
Best wishes, Di..x

Vicki Lane said...

These critters are much more attractive than our sharp nosed, bare-tailed possums here in North America.

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

Thanks Wil, go ahead and tag the photo. I actually copied it from a site from the NZ conservation Dept. There is a source for the photo.

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

Possum and rat invade nest (Source: Nga Manu Images)

Ann said...

We caught and released one in the wild a few years ago, sure was a pesky creature.
Ann

Anonymous said...

Those are MUCH cuter creatures than the ones we have in North America! Ours tend to snarl and hiss while destroying gardens.

Cristina Pop said...

Interestig post! They look so cute :)