Brushtailed possums are back to an area where they were locally extinct

February 18, 2024 10:45 PM

Brushtail possums have not lived in this part of Australia for almost 100 years, but now they are back. Locally extinct from Western Australia's northern Wheatbelt for almost a century, a brushtail possum has been photographed out and about, signalling a landscape-scale conservation success. (If you're thinking "I've heard bad things about brushtailed possums", that's because feral [introduced] brushtailed possums are an genuine ecological catastrophe in New Zealand. Here in Australia where the brushtailed possums actually belong in the ecosystem, this is good news.)
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries (8 comments total)

Jumping in before anyone asks, "Why can't they just airlift the possums from New Zealand to Australia?" The answer is: because the invasive possums in New Zealand carry a kind of tuberculosis that affects cattle. (Buy possum wool! You're helping the New Zealand environment!)
posted by rednikki at 5:29 AM on February 19 [2 favorites]

I've said it before and it bears repeating, brushies are utter wankers (in the exasperatedly affectionate Australian sense). I'm not entirely convinced that the bloody-minded little sods wouldn't have relocated themselves if you'd told them there was a Four'n'Twenty and a hot jam donut in it for them...
posted by prismatic7 at 6:45 AM on February 19 [5 favorites]

Nice to hear about conservation successes. Particularly in WA's wheatbelt.
It's surreal driving through that region. Seemingly endless wheat fields punctuated by gigantic mounds of grain wrapped in tarps and the white stains of rising salinity brought on by gross mismanagement of the land.

The eucalyptus scrub's deep taproots drink from the watertable, which keeps it low, away from the surface. When eucalyptus scrub was replaced by wheat, with it's much shallower root system, the ground water accumulated and the watertable rose. In many places this rising watertable reached the surface where evaporation then concentrated the salts transported by the water, resulting in rising salinity and expanding salt pans. Places that were once seasonal lakes abundant with fish became hypersaline salt pans inhabited only by extremeophiles.

Australia's environmental conservationists sure have their work cut out for them.
posted by neonamber at 8:37 AM on February 19 [1 favorite]

We encourage all Aussies visiting NZ to take home a few possums with them, they are available in convenient "fur coat" form to avoid having one get loose on the plane
posted by mbo at 5:01 PM on February 19 [1 favorite]

The answer is: because the invasive possums in New Zealand carry a kind of tuberculosis that affects cattle. (Buy possum wool! You're helping the New Zealand environment!)

it's only got a LITTLE bit of tuberculosis, you can wash that right out
posted by ZaphodB at 7:23 PM on February 19

Personally I won't buy any fur coats made from tuberculoid possums, I'm not a fan of conspicuous consumption
posted by ZaphodB at 7:27 PM on February 19 [6 favorites]

It's more than just TB, they also eat the eggs and chicks of native birds
posted by mbo at 8:16 PM on February 19 [1 favorite]

Personally I won't buy any fur coats made from tuberculoid possums, I'm not a fan of conspicuous consumption

oof
posted by yarrow at 1:43 PM on February 20 [2 favorites]