Possum questions
Original post
We're coming for about 4 months of summer tramping, and I've got a few specific possum questions:
1) we'll be tenting most of the time. At night, if we've left food in our packs, under the tent vestibules, will the possums come barging in & try to tear/rip/dismantle the tent and/or packs to get to it? How brazen are they as far as rummaging around an occupied tent?
2) Is rabies a problem? How nocturnal are they -- if I see one during the day should I assume it may be rabid & give it a wide berth?
3) If we're taking a day hike from "base camp", do I need to strike the tent completely in order to avoid daytime invasion & destruction? Or just flatten the tent? Or is this not a problem at all?
Thanks for any advice...
16 comments
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Page: 12
You should not actually leave any loose gear around as the German Kiwi(short beck) WEKA like to steal anything. My Dad remembers when he was 6 one came out and was dragging a cast iron frying pan away...so it pays to tie anything loose (boots) down!
I wonder how often a photo of a weka is labeled as a Kiwi in a tourists photo album....
My father had his watch stolen by one once. The other night, I was fishing a remote beach and there was a handful of Weka in the area and the moment I turned my back (or even sat still) they would be poking around my supplies looking for something to steal... They loved the squid I was using for bait.
there still plenty of oppossums about, if you see one during the day then it will be sick, a big whack on the head will fix this though!, the less opossums there are the better!
I have been trying to run over a possum for the last year or so, I see them quite often but they either already off the road or I automatically swerve / brake to miss them....
Got a wild kitten one night, I was driving around a corner in the lewis pass and right in my headlights was a family of kittens... I slammed on my breaks but it was not enough :(
Have hit the odd rabbits and a hedgehog, one night a owl flew right into my windscreen which gave me quite a surprise...
I probably should not break to prevent hitting such animals because they are pests but I like them.
my brother is a policeman and quite often does a night patrol up the road ends on mt taranaki to look for boy racers etc, he always texts me and says he has hit upwards of 10 possums and misses quite a few, may not be good for the cop car but at least he is doing his bit!!
Thanks for the possum advice -- here's hoping we'll sleep straight through any noisy possum parties.
11–16 of 16
Page: 12
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| Forum | Visiting New Zealand |
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| Started by | trtlrock |
| On | 24 April 2009 |
| Replies | 15 |
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