It is with great pleasure that we announce the arrival of a baby possum in your Adelaide Park Lands.
Our Ph D university researcher, Tara McKenzie has reported that:
I am continuing to trap in the Park Lands weekly and we now have 9 individuals tagged.
A few weeks ago I caught the first female I have recorded with pouch young measuring at only one week old!
This is a great sign but has been interesting to see that the breeding season is a bit delayed compared to the Riverland and agricultural possums I am looking at.
Possum baby at one week old. Pic: Tara McKenzie
For example, the Riverland possums I captured at the end of September were already measuring at around a month old.
We have also been commonly observing abnormal fur growth on the majority of the Parklands possums (see photos below).
We think this is a result of a previous attack and subsequent fur regrowth but are still investigating if it could be a sign of disease or parasites.
The two pics above are from different possums but we’ve seen this on the majority we have caught.
I am just working on a map of the transects I will cover in my upcoming spotlighting survey of the Park Lands.
Trapped for just a short time: just long enough to be measured, weighed, and tagged,
See Tara’s earlier reports on her Ph D work tracking and monitoring possums in your Park Lands.
