The
Possum TV site has been
retired. The site's format was not practical for the long term, and
the last entries were added in April 2009. I am not sure how things
will go, but I hope that eventually GK will create a possum blog. For
now I will try to sum up some of the changes that have occurred in
the last year or so. Footage of nestboxes can be seen on GK's
Possum TV Live
site. At present it is more practical for household use than mass
viewing, but that may change.
All photos on this page are by GK.
Rosebud & Gumdrop
A ringtail finally used the box that had originally been designed for
ringtails - up until then, only brushtails had used the box, and it
was quite a popular box. The ringtail Gumdrop first dropped in some
nesting material, and then it became evident that she had babies in
the pouch. There were three of them, but one disappeared fairly early
on, and after a while so did a second. The third one, Rosebud, grew
to a fairly large size, and continued to share the box with his
mother until it was obvious that she had a new batch of babies in the
pouch. For a time they took turns using the nestbox, while
occasionally still sleeping together. Neither one is currently using
the box. The babies first utilized their mother's tail as a rope when
climbing out of the nestbox for the night, and then began to use each
other's.
Queek
Queek was the dominant male possum here for more than a year after he
recovered from a bad eye injury. The eye in the end always had a
small spot, but Queek adapted well, and seemed confident and healthy.
He seemed to be very fond of nestboxes, and to sleep almost
exclusively in them. We now have 6 nestboxes on the property, but
when we had only 3, Queek divided his time between each of the boxes
close to equally. He disappeared rather suddenly last year, around
the time of the last
Possum
TV entries. He had seemed to be doing very well for a long
time, and when he slept in the nestboxes, he appeared very
comfortable, getting a restful sleep. One day (there had been a storm
the previous night) he didn't sleep in a nestbox, and we never saw
him again. He is very much missed.
Kirra
We had thought Leena's baby Kirra was a female, but she
turned out to be a he. 'Kirra' could have been changed to 'Kir', but
if females can have traditionally 'male' names, why can't males have
'female' names? We called Kirra the 'blond possum', because of the
tint of his fur. Leena seemed to stay near Kirra, or to allow him to
remain close by, as if protecting him, even when he reached the age
when most young possums become independent, although he was one of
the male possums Leena tried to prevent from sleeping in nestboxes.
Kirra was the possum who was hit by a car in October 2009. He is also
very much missed. On the night before he died, I had thought he
looked lonely or distressed. Kiki had been getting all the attention,
because of her injury. As a compensation, I gave him a piece of
chocolate - it was dark chocolate with a lemon-lime filling, and it
was the last food I ever gave to him. Possums do not frequently
receive treats such as chocolate, but I am glad that Kirra had
something special for his last meal.
Hulot
Not long after Queek disappeared, a new male made an entrance. We
named him Hulot. He may have been trying to take over the territory,
or he may have been around for breeding season. One of the names I
originally thought of was Portnoy, and it turned out that it might
have been appropriate - as we have never seen a male possum have so
many erections while in a nestbox. Hulot was around for a
considerable time, but we have not seen him recently. It may be
difficult to tell from the photo, but he is large in comparison to
most brushtails around here. He is an amiable possum who sometimes
has provided comic relief through his physical awkwardness.
Pesto
Pesto started coming around, and Hulot's presence was less visible. I
do not think of possums as pests, and I am still somewhat uneasy
about calling a possum Pesto, but the reason for the name relates to
his food preferences. When he first came to the house for food, he
did not want to eat the usual possum foods - fruits - but held out
for what the humans were eating, which was pesto. Pesto often sleeps
in nestboxes, and has tried out 5 of them, although he usually sleeps
in either box 1 or 3. Pesto acquired a cloaca infection not long
after we first had contact with him, and was treated successfully
with antibiotics. Pesto is an exceptionally persistent possum - if
Leena chases him out of one nestbox, he heads for another. If all the
other possums are trying to keep him from getting any food, he will
either show up earlier than the rest of them the next night, or find
the one unguarded entry point, and quickly sneak in and out.
Švejk
As I have mentioned in
Possum
Clinic, the possums Švejk and Kiki were also
successfully treated with antibiotics, Švejk for a staph
infection on his face, and Kiki for an infection related to a dead
toe. Švejk is doing very well and appears to be the dominant
male here. Once he had been treated, he might have 'paid Hulot back',
(as Švejk recovered, he went after Hulot, with the result that
Hulot looked a little weatherbeaten for a while), but after that, it
seemed that the two of them managed to coexist relatively peacefully
until the time of Hulot's departure.
Švejk has gradually acquired a more reddish colouring
(originally his fur was mainly grey-toned.) It could be that this
colour change is common for male brushtails as they get older - Hulot
and Pesto have also become a little more rufous over time.
Fifi
Kiki's first baby was Fifi - and Fifi was the first baby here with a
pronounced white tip of the tail. For a while she was sleeping under
the eaves/in the ceiling, in a slanted area of the roof, but as she
got bigger it is likely she had to find another place to sleep. We
have not seen her for some time, and hope that she is well. She may
have learned to fend for herself early, as Kiki was encumbered by the
dead toe/foot injury when Fifi was quite young. I have slip-on shoes
with black feathers on them - Fifi used to find it amusing to leap at
them (with my feet in them) as if pouncing on a rival possum. She
also leapt at the (handheld) camera, trying to bite it, and when
misted (in warm weather) with a spray water bottle to try to keep her
from stealing Kiki's medicated food, she leapt at the water bottle,
too (she actually seemed to like being sprayed with water.)
Kiki
Kiki hadn't been visiting at the time Fifi began backriding. She only
stopped by a few times with Fifi before she injured her toe. Luckily
she came by regularly enough for a while that she could receive
antibiotics and we could keep an eye on her. We can now recognize
Kiki when she visits a possum box, because of the missing toe. When
she tries to visit the house, Leena and Yoshi both try to force her
to leave. When taking food from a human, Kiki would every once in a
while bring her paw across in a kind of swiping motion - on one
occasion, she left a scratch on my index finger that looked like an
exclamation mark.
Leena & Yoshi
Leena is probably a bit over 3 years old, and we have had contact
with her for over 2 years. With humans she is very gentle. For some
time now she has found it necessary to police the nestboxes and
prevent males from sleeping in them, but she herself has only used
the nestboxes a few times in total. We are not sure why she is doing
what she is doing, but it may be adding to her stress level. In late
May 2010 (the time of writing), Leena is being treated for a staph
infection near her eye. (The photo above shows Leena's usual
appearance.) Up until now, Leena has never had a health issue. At
present the infection has cleared up, and fur is beginning to grow
back.
We now have more females in the area than ever before: Leena, Yoshi
and Ninja. Kiki visits only occasionally, and might be just on the
outside of this territory. She probably has another baby in her pouch
at present, and in addition, both Leena and Yoshi have babies in the
pouch. All of this may increase stress for all, and I am not sure
what it means regarding the future.
Yoshi
Leena's third baby is Yoshi, a female with even more white at the tip
of her tail than Fifi. Yoshi is currently (May 2010) here a lot, and
is very bold about trying to take food from other possums. There is a
small ceramic bowl into which we occasionally put muesli as a treat
for possums - one day while Leena was in the house eating from the
bowl, Yoshi snuck in and stole the whole bowl from under her - she
took the bowl in her mouth and leapt into a tree - we had never seen
a possum try to steal the bowl or take it outside before. When she
was done with it, she dropped it into the garden without breaking
it.
Ninja
Kiki's second baby has been named Ninja (I have sometimes called her
Batgirl). When she visits, she often creeps stealthily along the
balcony floor, hiding behind pots and peering out from behind them.
She seems pretty brave, willing to face Leena, Yoshi and other adult
possums when she visits. I am not sure why she is tolerated yet Kiki
is not, but it may have something to do with her age/lack of adult
hormones, or that she can still escape onto small branches. When a
possum stands up on its hind legs ready to strike, we call it a
'grizzly possum'. Above Ninja is not really in full grizzly possum
mode.
Nestboxes 6 & 3
There is considerably more vegetation in the yard than when we first
had contact with possums. We now have 6 nestboxes (GK made all of
them himself and hooked up cameras in all.) GK is considering putting
up more 'possum apartments' in the garage. Boxes 1, 3, 4 & 5 are
brushtail boxes. Box 2 was originally designed to be a ringtail box,
but brushtails have used it more often than ringtails so far. Box 6
is a sugar glider box. So far, the sugar glider box has only been
used by ants.
In the past on the
Possum TV
site, I have perpetuated some misinformation, such as 'ringtails are
more social than brushtails' and I may also have given a misleading
impression about how likely nestboxes are to be used once put up.
Many of the nestboxes here have remained empty, while possums have
chosen instead to sleep in the garage roller door, or a stack of
tires in the garage.
Leena has even chased or hauled males out of nestboxes just as
they are settling down to sleep for the day. We are not sure why this
is, but maybe it represents an instinctual attempt at population
control.
Yoshi
This does not look comfortable! but in having thick skin and fur, I
suppose it is like having a built-in quilt or comforter. (Above Yoshi
rests in the garage roller door for the day.)
Yoshi
Here is Yoshi in a stack of two tires, on a shelf high in the garage.
The reality is that healthy female brushtails can have two babies per
year. If you do the math, it isn't possible that all of the babies
and adults can continue to live and breed indefinitely.
The more experience we have with possums, the more likely we are to
pick up about the realities of possum existence and struggle for
survival. Cats, dogs, cars, and human habitation all pose threats to
wildlife. The neighbourhood has been undergoing development for some
years now, and is likely to continue to do so for considerably
longer. There are fewer spots for possums, and increased competition
for those that are available, and meanwhile, new possums continue to
be born.
If you had told me several years ago that I would be treating
possums with antibiotics, I wouldn't have believed it. It's a
difficult dilemma: am I overinvolved with possums, and should they
be left to their own devices? The trouble is that in consenting to
have contact with them on an ongoing basis, and deciding to feed
them, greater awareness results. It is too difficult to shut out
perception of the changes and difficulties that arise. I either have
to ignore them completely, or try to help those who are experiencing
obvious discomfort or distress.
possum tv 2015
possum tv 2014
possum tv 2012
possum tv 2011
possum tv 2010
Note: I receive both antibiotics and advice from a vet who has
extensive experience with treating wildlife - Dr Jim
Pollock.
