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| Comet - 18th Sept 2014 |
He looks to be at least as independent as his older brother Oz (who, by the way, hasn't been seen since he left home early in August).
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| Comet - 18th Sept 2014 |
One night recently, Kiki slept by herself in Box 1. I was worried that something might have happened to Comet, so I has a look around. I found him sleeping quite happily under the eaves. He was in the place where Baxter got trapped, which, although too small for an adult possum, is a very safe spot for a young possum because no bigger animal can get in. Comet had wedged himself between two beams in such a way that he would probably have been safe even from a python, because there wouldn't have been room for it to wrap around him.
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| Kiki with Comet back-riding - 15th Sept 2014 |
Prok has been seen around. Today he even slept in box 7. Prok is still shy of humans. He has this habit of sitting still when a human approaches, but immediately turning and moving away as soon as the human also starts to move away. I suppose it might be a defensive behavior to avoid provoking a chase. I don't recall any other possum behaving this way.
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| Wasabi licking his fingers - 18th Sept 2014 |
Wasabi is still visiting. He is missing a few small patches of fur on the tail - hardly anything and I only noticed it because I check him over carefully every time he visits (which he seems to tolerate). If it starts getting worse, he can be treated with Ivermectin, but we're nowhere near this stage yet.
There has been another male ringtail seen around. I don't think there has been any fighting between him and Wasabi. Also there has been a ringtail with a baby seen in the distance. This might have been Ruby. Keeping track of the ringtails is difficult because few of them come close enough to be recognised.
I still don't have any more idea about what happened to the poor little ringtail I mentioned in a comment on my last post. All of the remaining possums are still around and look healthy, and there's no sign of any predators in the area.
Finally, here's a photo of a fruit bat seen recently. Fruit bats are common around here but don't often come within easy range for photography. This one, however, was apparently interested in a bottlebrush that was relatively close to the ground.
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| A Fruit Bat (aka Flying Fox) - 1st Oct 2014 |
We had a major drama here last week when Louisa turned up twice at the feeding area without bub Sai. So Sai was missing for about five days. I almost clocked Louisa, who sat there scoffing the meal we'd put out for two, completely unconcerned. You feel so helpless when a joey goes missing. Robin kept saying don't panic, Sai's probably holed up at one of Louisa's nests. Eventually when Louisa returns to it they'll reunite. And perhaps that's what happened because Sai turned up a couple of nights ago :)
ReplyDeleteIt's a frustrating thing that we know so little about the lives of these animals that it's difficult to tell when we should be worried about something.
DeleteKiki often deliberately leaves surprisingly young babies on their own. I believe that this is for the best; the baby possum learns to be self-reliant as early as possible and the mother gets a break from the pestering baby. Sometimes I suspect she might deliberately keep the baby away from the house when there's something dangerous (e.g. a python) in the area. Quite possibly the baby is actually relatively nearby, but safely ensconced in the high branches of a tree out of sight.
The least stressful option is to assume that the mother possum knows best, although I admit that I still often start to get concerned when I don't see a baby for more than a couple of days in succession.
There are certainly a lot of snakes around our place at the moment, so that might have been the reason :)
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