FOOD OF OPOSSUMS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24400, 11 September 1940, Page 9

FOOD OF OPOSSUMS

APPETITE FOR SMALL BIRDS The question has long been debated among naturalists and bird lovers whether the food of opposums is cpnfined to the leaves and shoots of native trees, or whether they have an occasional appetite for small birds and their eggs. Further material was provided for the controversy in a reference to the feeding habits of opossums, made a few days ago by the Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr W. S. Parry. A report from life ranger of the Egmont National Park, Taranaki, Mr N. P. Gibson, seemed to make it clear that the opossum did not confine his food to leaves, shoots and other vegetable matter of the bush, said the Minister. “ I have opened quite a number of opossums,” wrote Mr Gibson, “ and my discovery of their stomach contents was as follows: Two contained portions of fresh water crayfish, one had a large portion of a rat skin, with forefeet still distinguishable, three had feathers of small birds, and one of these had the feathers of a whitehead. They all contained a good quantity of the shoots of the Nothopanax variety of scrub, and as this scrub is about one-sixth of the whole of Egmont National Park scrub, one can easily see how serious opossums may become if not consistently trapped." The Minister said the revelations of the ranger of the Egmont National Park would cause further investigations to be made. " I hope we will not definitely find in the opossum,” Mr Parry added, “ a further menace to our native birds.”