OPOSSUM RANKS HIGH AMONGST EROSION CAUSES

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 14, Issue 53, 19 October 1949, Page 5

OPOSSUM RANKS HIGH AMONGST EROSION CAUSES

“Public Enemy No. 1” is the title fixed to the opossum by the Poverty Bay Catchment Board, for in its area, the opossum has become a definite and immediate menace. Breeding in inaccessible back country, thousands of opossums move forward every year, eating out the heart of the bush as they go, until they are now the prime cause of erosion in the Gisborne district. They have also become disturbingly common in bush areas near here. An entire species of native tree may be wiped out in one area; in another, where the damage is older, crumbling topsoil and scarred hillside mark the site of slips that the most inexperienced eye cannot but notice.

of young . willow shoots, planted as binders in an attempt to halt the advance of erosion, are eaten out within weeks of taking root. In one small section alone, the opossum—once regarded as an “interesting addition” to our native fauna—is causing thousands of pounds worth of damage.

Fifteen Government hunters in the Poverty Bay wage an unceasing, year-round battle against this enemy.

Once a thriving industry in New Zealand, trapping has been neglected for many years, since low skin prices do not now make it an economic proposition. The opossum has thus had a breathing spell, and has bred prolifically wherever conditions have been suitable. Since there are no natural enemies to interrupt its life, and since it will eat almost any pative tree, its population is now very heavy in many parts of New Zealand.