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| Mischa - 14th Oct 2016 |
Mischa might still be at least somewhat under Sasha's protection because about a week ago he chased Farley (who is probably his father) away and also on one occasion Sasha declined to visit the feeding area when he was present - normally she would automatically chase off any other possums, even including ringtails, from this area.
It might be that Sasha knows his development suffered a setback due to his getting a tick in the eye and she is given him a little extra time to bulk up before he has to leave.
For the record, here is the last photo of Sasha and Mischa together.
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| Sasha (left) and Mischa (right) - 4th Oct 2016 |
Although still young, Mischa is getting some significant rufous colouring around his shoulders. He has probably inherited this from Farley.
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| Mischa - 4th Oct 2016 |
Sasha is doing alright. She has been picking on Farley a bit lately. She attacked him once when he was sleeping in the garage door and a few days ago evicted him from Box 3 just as he was getting ready to sleep. This latter was probably a mistake on Sasha's part because she ended up sleeping in Box 3 and the temperature in this box reached over 37°C, so she had a fairly uncomfortable day. Meanwhile, her normal box - box 7 - was at least 6 degrees cooler.
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| Sasha - 28th Oct 2016 |
Sasha has a new (very small) baby in the pouch, so maybe that's why Farley is unpopular; he has served his purpose and can now stay out of the way for another six months.
Farley is in good condition. He has a small plucking (presumably from his latest fight with Sasha), but no actual wounds, which is good going for him.
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| Farley - 4th Nov 2016 |
Toto hasn't been seen since the end of August, although a neighbour has recently seen a possum who might be Toto sleeping in his garage door.
All of the ringtails appear to still be around, although are visiting less often than previously. The youngsters Keeta and Koji are sometimes seen on their own, although it's possible there's an adult possum overlooking them.
Maple, who only emerged from the pouch at the start of the year already has her own babies in the pouch.
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| Maple - 28th Oct 2016 |
Also, the brush turkey from last year (at least I assume it's the same one) is back and has been vigorously raking the back garden to rebuild his mound. Hopefully we'll see some brush turkey chicks this summer.
Good to know Mischa is fine! Had his eye completely heal after the tick? On the first photo it looks like it has an enlarged pupil, but maybe it is normal.
ReplyDeleteMischa's eye still has a bluish patch that's only slightly smaller than what was shown on the last photo of the previous blog entry. After a certain point, these sort of eye injuries get better only very slowly and he might permanently have a patch on his eyeball.
DeleteI don't think it's affecting his vision much, if at all.
Possums seem able to cope with eye problems really well - and here's something I'd like to repeat for the benefit of anyone coming across this blog for the first time: don't allow a vet to put down a possum who has lost an eye "because they won't be able to survive in the wild". Possums (both ringtails and brushtails) can easily cope with the complete loss of an eye.
Three years ago - which is probably half a lifetime in ringtail terms - Wasabi suffered some problem (cause still unknown) which rendered him blind in the right eye, yet he has maintained his position of dominant male ringtail in the area since that time. This is not an easy thing in an area which has pythons big enough to eat a ringtail, and not only has he been able to look after himself, but also has been able to take his turn looking after his many children. He was last seen last night and is still happy and healthy.
We just wanted to agree with Possum Dreaming's advice re one eyed possums :)
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