OPOSSUM LIFE

Greymouth Evening Star, 9 July 1924, Page 8

OPOSSUM LIFE

STATE FARMS ADVOCATED.

A lecture on the habits and general life of opossums in New Zealand was given by Professor H. B. Kirk at Wellington. Professor Kirk outlined 'at some length the life, history and habits of the opossum in Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand. The opossum spread to Australia where they thrived over a vast area. They then spread to Tasmania and New Zealand, and thrived in both countries. He explained in detail how the young were reared, and the various kinds of food on which the grown animals existed. The opossum was an animal of no mean calibre. The opossum held its own in America, as it had done in Australia and Tasmania. The opossum reared its young in a natural way, the offspring being fed without inconvenience to itself. The opossum was to be found in many places frequented by mankind as they were very nervous animals. They generally bred once a year, the offspring number one or two. The opossum had good points and bad points. He freely admitted that the opossum did considerable damage to orchards, and naturally orchardists became very much annoyed as a result. One serious charge made in Tasmania was that the opossum damaged the plantations and strict measures had to be taken to stop their depredations. It was possible that opossums were not so destructive to plantations in’ New Zealand as in Tasmania. There was no clear evidence that the opossum actually damaged the young shoots of shrubs in New Zealand. He could not find any actual damage done by opossums in the native bush at Dunedin. He mentioned one case

. where opossums raided a field of oats, • but that was rare and only occurred ■ when they preferred a change of diet. • One had to admit that opossums raided the nests of birds occasionally. He 1 mentioned that opossums had been “ charged with feeding on the bark of ■ trees and shrubs, and thereby caus- ’ ing considerable damage. Opossums, ( however, did not ring-bark trees. He r referred to several cases where opos- ‘ sums had been charged with destroy- ■ ing undergrowth’ and stated that spch 1 damage had been done by deer, and by ’ cattle trampling the undergrowth un- ; der and also by rabbits. The damage caused by opossums was generally in the higher reaches of trees. He referred to several cases where trees had ’ suffered damage which had been laid . up against the opossum, but it had ’ been "found that the damage had been brought about by severe snow storms. The death of certain trees and native bush in various parts of the country, in. many instances, could not be the work of opossums. During a visit to Peel Forest, in South Canterbury, where opossums abound in thousands, he found that the animals had done no damage in spite of the statement made by a distinguished botanist to the contrary. Figures showed that the Government royalty on the opossum skins taken last year amounted to £7312. The i value of the skins taken in each year I was £33,000, and it should before long amount to £200,000 yearly. The only way to improve the stamina of the opossum was to import animals from ’ Tasmania. He thought. the Government should establish State farms for opossums. An island should bo set aside and the best breed fostered there. There was no reason why the Alpine Range should not be stocked with I opossums, where the animals could be protected and a substantial revenue obtained;.