I would just like to add that baby 'possums STINK. Lordy how they stink! Even people who make a career of rescuing itty bitty cute wittuw animauws like bunnies and baby birdies and such quail at cleaning 'possum cages; they are nasty in a Whole Other Kind of Way. They have such toxic-smelling shit you never imagined. Plus, they have some kind of hardwired need to snarl and snap and bare their teeth and scare the crap out of you as much as possible, even if you are a really nice baby-animal-caring-for person who wants all the best for all the poor critters. Plus they bite. And there are way too many of 'em, dang it! Too many!
And dang it, all the ones I’ve seen have really crappy fur, all patchy and tufty and sparse. Is this a Texas thing? Do opossums elsewhere have proper pelts? Where can I get me somma them warmers y’all tell of?
I have bottleraised more kittens than I can count, and some puppies, and a couple of deer, and a bobcat, but I won’t bottleraise baby possums. Those little bastards will bite you as soon as they have teeth and they get teeth early. And as emilyforce mentioned, they stink.
Corner Case, may I copy your lovely song? I have a friend who really, really needs to see that.
Yep - Strine possums are quite different to merkin possums . Still marsupials, but dark brown fur pelts that are soft and warm.
They look like they should be cuddly (and some people have kept pet possums), but they have teeth and claws and their instinct is to climb and hang on - not good for the face.
Tasmanian possums are endangered, but they are a non-native pest in NZ - thus lots of trapping and hunting, and the nascent fur/wool industry. The problem is convincing people that possum fur is actually an ethical choice - helping rid NZ of a destructive invasive species.
I know this is probably a dumb question, but if Tasmanian possums are endangered and NZ possums are over abundant, why not do some humane trapping and shipping? It’s not like it’s a bajillion miles away.
Your possums are cuter, but ours have their own, if aromatic, charm
Ours (common brushtail possum) are a slightly different species to the really endangered Tasmanian ones - common enough not to worry. And who wants to treat a possum humanely.
In the words of Split Enz
*I hit a possum driving down the street, I see red, I see red, I see red
Possum fur all through the grill, I see red, I see red, I see red
I see red…, I see red
I see red…, I see red
A sight that is familiar, possum meat aquiver, on the road
glowing red eyes fire, a thud under the tyres, splash it goes, high and low
I hit a possum…
*
Or maybe not.
We have sent wallabies back to restock areas of Oz - they were a specific breed, though.
