Possums and other cute critters

I forgot to tell you about our possum. Wellllll, she/he isn't necessarily "our" possum, but he visits us so that counts for something! "Our" possum, "Paul", realized that the "paw paws" that I put out for the lorikeets are much to his liking. Usually ten minutes after Tim and I go to bed, we will hear noises on the balcony. Of course, Sammy hears them too, which tends to make the possum's visit brief.

These guys are really cute -- sort of like a cat with a longer, bushy tail and pointy nose. I think this is a brushtail possum, which are the most common in NSW, but I'm not totally sure. If one of these cute guys takes residence in your attic, you are not allowed to "relocate him/her." It is actually against the law, since the little guys will die if moved elsewhere. You can find instructions on how to build your very own possum house as well as how to get the little guys to move out of your attic for good.

I'm amazed at how neat our little friend is. I don't think he would make any mess at all if Sammy didn't scare him off. Usually, the paw paw will stay right on the plate and have lots of claw/teeth marks in it. The seeds will be scattered - it seems no one likes the seeds. The little guy even got into the garbage bag in our carport. You would hardly know, except for the two items that had been licked clean and laid neatly aside.

Female possums usually bear their young in May - June each year. The young develop in the mother's pouch until they are robust enough to rough it on the outside - at their mother's tit. They will ride around with Mom for about 6 months before setting out on their own. I didn't see any "attached" baby, so I suspect our Paul is a male -- but you never know - it could be "Paula"!

Hugs, Judi