February 6 Rainy Day (Day 132)
More relaxing inside as the weather turned cold, rainy and windy! Further inquiry into the tree fuchsia led me to the possum, the most numerous of roadkill we’ve seen throughout NZ! Not to be confused with the North American Opossum, the Possum is a species introduced from Australia in the 1830’s for the fur business. Both are marsupials (carrying their young in a pouch like a kangaroo) but from different families altogether, and I don’t think the American opossum would ever be considered a fur bearer with it’s straggly, thin and very stinky fur! The dead possums here on the roads however look very luxuriant with thick soft looking fur, although I haven’t actually touched a roadkill possum I have to admit.
An image of a live possum from the internet.
Them being nocturnal, we haven’t seen any possum, but they do terrible damage to the forests and native animals of NZ. They eat flowers, berries, seeds and bark but they are opportunistic feeders and will eat eggs, chicks and insects too! They have damaged whole tracts of Tree Fuchsia and eliminated them from some areas! More info on the Possum is HERE. The Possum is trapped throughout NZ and it’s fur is used to manufacture very soft and warm Merino wool/Possum fur garments!