The environmental impact of Possums In New Zealand

The Possums Background Australian Brush Tailed Possum Latin name: Trichosurus vulpecula Originated: From Australia in 1837 to establish a fur trade.

Possum Abilities Possums have sharp claws - good for climbing trees have a thick bushy tail are nocturnal (is active during the night) can see well in the dark have big ears - all the better for hearing other possums during the night don’t like living in cold, damp are a marsupial (a marsupial is an animal that carries its young in a pouch)

Why are Possums a Pest They feed on and kill native and exotic trees, feeding on leaves and berries and stripping bark They feed on and damage orchard trees, shelter belts, crops and pasture They eat our native birds (eggs, fledglings and adults) They eat our native invertebrates, such as insects They compete with native birds for food and habitat They spread bovine tuberculosis in deer and cattle, which poses a serious threat to New Zealand’s agricultural industry $50 million are spent on possum control

Predators of a Possum Sadly there are no predators here in New Zealand (apart from humans) This is the reason for their great numbers in New Zealand ( )

Effect on Native flora and fauna They eat about 8 million tones of native vegetation each year They eat the next growth/seedlings of rata, totara, titoki, kowhai and kohekohe. They eat the eggs and chicks of native birds

Possum Control We will show 3 different Possum control methods. They include: biological, mechanical and chemical control.

Biological Control Biological control reduces possum breeding in areas. The possums ' own biological systems will be used to get in the way with the method by which sperm fertilises the egg. This response will be triggered by proteins that make up part of the outer layer of the sperm or egg, and will stop female possums producing eggs and/or disrupt the fertilisation of any eggs produced. The biological control agent based on the sperm or egg proteins will be made into bait and fed to possums from bait stations.

Mechanical control There are many different mechanical devices which can be used to successfully capture possums, some of them are: Guns-one of the most common and favourite way to dispose of the possums. Timms traps-a bright yellow box which has bait inside it and lures the possums head into the opening. Then the metal bar snaps up under the creatures neck (breaking it) Cage traps-much like the timms trap using bait it lures the possum when the possum takes the bait the trapdoor is triggered.

Chemical control There are a few techniques to chemically control possums. Cyanide-a poison which gives near instant death to the possum which eats it or sodium fluoroacetate occurs in nature as a plant toxin called fluoroacetate. It is found in a number of plants (including the tea plant) in South Africa, South America, and Australia. The toxin is thought to have evolved as a deterrent to browsing animals is biodegradable so does not accumulate in the environment. It only affects mammals. The chemical formula is C2H2FNaO2. There is no antidote.

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