HABITS OF OPOSSUMS

Southland Times, Issue 20949, 5 December 1929, Page 10

HABITS OF OPOSSUMS

FURTHER PARTICULARS RECEIVED. LETTERS TO ACCLIMATIZATION SOCIETY. Opossums have recently been given a fair amount of publicity. A further contribution was forthcoming at the meeting of the Southland Acclimatization Society last evening, when the following letter from Mr Howard Tripp, of Wellington, was read: — “The Internal Affairs Department is making exhaustive inquiries as to the habits of opossums and the result, I believe, will be that it will be found that the food of opossums is leaves and berries and that they do not eat eggs. If the food supply, is limited the opossum, of course, would compete with the birds, but bushmen tell me that most of the berries eaten by opossums are taken from the ground because they often cannot reach the berries on the trees. “With regard to Stewart Island, this is one of our best bird sanctuaries, and there are, I understand, plenty of ground birds there. I think probably trappers should be compelled to use snares unless a trap is invented which wall catch the birds without injury. An engineer here thinks that he has invented such a trap and is now making some, five of which I am to send you for the purpose of testing them. “On Kapiti Island where there are only 2000 acres of bush the opossums if numerous must compete with the birds and I advised trapping the opossums out. The caretaker is doing splendid work there and he is satisfied that the opossums were competing and eating too many of the leaves of young trees. If your food supply is limited it is obvious that the opossum, unless kept in check, must do harm. Until the Department has finished its inquiries it would, I think, be a mistake to advocate more opossums being turned out on Stewart Island. Any idea of the solution of the opossum question would be to define bird sanctuarties and appoint boards to run tho sanctuaries with caretakers. Then the board can decide whether or not it. is in the interest of the birds that opossums should be trapped out or simply kept in check. If we were starting again I should advocate keeping all islands sanctuaries for our native flora and fauna. However, wo must take things as they are. There is no doubt that the trappers are catching an enormous number of vermin and are thus saving many birds, and if we could only get the right trap it is going a long way to help solve the opossum question.”

Another communication concerning opossums was also before the society. This was a letter from the Department of Internal Affairs advising that it had been found necessary to revise the opossum regulations. The society was asked to make immediately any suggestions as to the alteration of the regulations.

The matter was left in the hands of the president (Mr J. Robertson) and Mr Eustace Russell.