[Ag-eq] Varmints

[Jewel]

In the late 1800s, some bright spark had an idea, an idea that turned out to be a catastrophic 
mistake, that New Zealand could start a fur industry if it imported some ring-tailed possums from 
Australia.
The fur industry never flourished, but, my word, how the possums did to the point where they became 
an out-of-control pest!;  very much akin to the, also, imported rabbit!
New Zealand has no indigenous mammals, NZ having split from Gwondanaland, some 80million years ago, 
that is,  before the mammalian evolution.  The only exception is that we do, or, more to the point, 
did have 3 species of bat, but it seems, very probable, that 2 of the 3 species may be extinct.

Returning to possums/rabbits.  Since they became a pest, the authorities have tried every method 
available to them to control the furry flood, but nothing has done much towards denting the 
respective populations.
Every night, many  tons of leaves are stripped from our precious native trees by the voracious 
possum, and they don't restrict their depredation only to the trees, the birds, particularly their 
eggs and chicks, are also grist to the mill, and as if that weren't enough, the possum is the 
primary host for the bovine tuberculosis virus.
However, it is not all bad!  Those Many of the possums that are trapped, have the skins plucked and 
the resulting fibre is blended with merino wool and is spun into a wonderful yarn which is used to 
make socks and gloves for mountaineers, being very tough-wearing, extremely warm and almost 
waterproof.  Jackets and hats are also made from the skings, and these are very popular among 
tourists, the Japanese being to the fore.
  Tracey, I can't speak for the American possum, but this may be a, timely, warning! the pesky 
animals are very fond of rose buds!

         Jewel


From: "Tracy Carcione via Ag-eq" <ag-eq at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, July 01, 2017 12:27 AM
To: "'Agricultural and Equestrean Division List'" <ag-eq at nfbnet.org>
Cc: "Tracy Carcione" <carcione at access.net>
Subject: [Ag-eq] Varmints

We had the animal catcher out, setting traps for a couple weeks.  We asked
him if he could take what he caught elsewhere and let it go, and he said he
would.  All he caught was 2 possums.  Well, 3, but we told him he could let
the last go here and stop.  I think I can live with possums.  Maybe a
mistake, but we'll see.

I had no idea possums lived in suburban Jersey.  I thought they hung out in
the woods in the South, but no, they're very widespread.  They eat anything
they can get.  I'm hoping they might eat some squirrels, or giant bugs.

I'm disgusted that my neighbors apparently can't tell the difference between
a groundhog and a possum, which are quite different.  Unless they actually
did see groundhogs, but they don't live at my place.

It's frustrating that I can't observe the wildlife that's apparently all
around me.  But that ain't going to happen.  And, if I could, I don't think
I'd be living here at all.  I'd be out in the country, and probably working
outside, instead of sitting at a desk all day.



I looked up possums in Wikkipedia.  They're interesting.  So far as I know,
they're our only native marsupial.  They're immune to snakebite.  One of the
original colonists described a possum as having "head of a pig, tail of a
rat, bigness of a cat."  The animal control guy says they look like big,
ugly rats.  I thought they could hang by their tails like monkeys, but they
can't.  They can use their tails to carry stuff, though.  Pretty handy.



I've made a mental list of things the varmints eat and things they leave
alone.  They don't like lilies, anything in the onion family, and any
strong-scented herbs.  They love any greens, including mustard, but maybe
not kale.  They like coreopsis and coneflowers.  They don't seem to like the
nightshade family, tomato plants, for instance.

Not sure how I can use this list, but I'm giving it some thought.

Tracy



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