August
Watch for Western Ringtail Possums
(Indigenous name: Nguaren)
You either hate them or love them, but one thing is for certain: If you ever get the opportunity to rear one, you will forever love them.
Few countries can boast wild animals in the backyard – we can! If Busselton had an identifying animal – it would be our sweet possum.
Most of us enjoy watching them on our fences and hearing them stomping on the roof and tolerate the nibbled roses – we are a very caring population in Busselton. You bring a lot of possums into care, sick, injured or orphaned and our carers have a good record for saving them.
Remember that your safety is most important when saving animals so don’t put yourself or anyone else in any danger.
If handling a sick or injured animal, remember it will be stressed and – unless to weak – bite and scratch hard and it will HURT. So approach it with care, either with thick gloves or with a medium-heavy towel to drop over the animal. Grasp the back of the neck through the towel, swing it around to wrap up the feet and place it gently in a cage, carton or bag and get it to the Vet or to a carer. You must keep any rescued animal quiet, dark and warm to give it a good chance to survive.
Orphaned babies are usually “lost” off mother’s back on their first night out of the pouch. They must grip mum with both teeth and claws. If there are twins there is not much room – if they get dislodged they might fall off.
Should you discover a baby on the ground or alone up in a tree, rescue it before a cat, dog or crow gets to it. Bring it in as soon as possible, it will be cold and in shock. Put it into a woollen sock or beanie and put it against your heart, the beat will soothe it.
Possums are easily hand reared and make adorable companions for up to nine months, after which they are returned to the wild.
If you do find one and decide to rear it yourself, bring it in for advice and check over. They are too precious to lose.
Babies taken from a dead mother’s pouch, need very special care, always bring these in.
As the Western Ringtail possum is a threatened species CALM requests that each one coming into care be reported to CALM.
Their survival is in our hands. If we disregard their needs, they will become extinct. They are different from the eastern states’ Common Ringtail Possums, so we can’t replace them. Their habitat is mainly confined to Peppermint Country and the biggest concentration is in Busselton and surrounds.
To help preserve our possums, do grow Peppies – if possible a canopy of them for the possums’ feeding and for construction of their dreys (nests). Other native shrubs and trees are also valuable food sources.
In deep winter when food is scarce and mothers have pouch babies, and in hot summer when possums die from dehydration, you could put some chopped fruit on the fence or roof. Do this only about once or twice a week to prevent them from becoming dependant and forgetting how to find their own food. You will be rewarded by seeing that baby on mums back in the spring.
Keep dogs and cats confined at night – we lose more possums to pets than to cars.
Possums are also a big tourist attraction. So for every reason we must preserve and protect them. They are magic!
Mabel Bell