Update 5th Sept 2013 - Kiki's baby gets a name, unusual happenings in Perth and some Possum Porn

I'll start off with a photo of Kiki's baby. The little one is now permanently out of the pouch and is occasionally left on its own for short periods. I'm naming this possum Amiri.

Amiri - 31^st August 2013

I'm still not sure of the baby's gender. This is always a problem with brushtails; unless you're lucky enough to see the underside of a baby before it's fully furred, you often have to wait until it's fully off its mother's back before you can tell. I suppose I could always pick up the baby and examine it, but I try not to handle the babies unless I have to.

Here's another photo of the little one back-riding.

Amiri on Kiki's back - 27^th August 2013

There's some interesting possum news from the other side of the continent: Sneddo's oldest possum, Anka, has recently had twins. There are some photos of them on Anka's Gallery (see the last nine photos). It's very unusual for brushtails to have twins. I've never seen a brushtail with twins myself.

The marauding male possum has been following Kiki around and shrieks and squawks are frequently heard during the night as she tells him off. I've had a closer look at his photo and I'm thinking this possum might be Dexter. The last photo I have of Dexter was from nearly a year ago and the new possum looks very similar although a little more rufous around the shoulders, but then males seem to get more rufous as they age. Anyway, I'll be calling him Dexter from now on.

Dexter - 29^th August 2013

Here's a photo of him on the roof overlooking box 4. Kiki is inside with her nose just visible through the entrance hole. She could obviously hear or smell him because she let out an angry shriek when he came too close.

Dexter overlooks Box 4, with Kiki inside - 29^th August 2013

And here's Kiki looking out of the box, not too pleased with the marauder. He will feel those teeth if he's not careful!

Kiki looks out of Box 4 - 29th August 2013

However, it turns out that Dexter managed to get himself into Kiki's good books somehow, because a few days later the two were seen mating just outside of the house. Amiri had been left in the garage while this was happening.

I managed to get a film of at least part of the mating process. I'm not certain, but after a brief search it seems that I might have the honour of posting the first Brushtail Possum Porn video on the web. Fame at last!

Kiki and Dexter mating - 4^th September 2013

One thing I should probably mention is that this film is fairly explicit. Personally, I believe that shielding the delicate eyes of one's children from such things is counterproductive, however I understand that other people may have different opinions on the matter. If this concerns you, you might want to preview it before letting the kids watch.