Rahmet is growing up fast. He still keeps close to his mother Sasha and often back-rides, but occasionally he ventures off a little way on his own.
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| Rahmet - 1st Mar 2020 |
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| Rahmet - 1st Mar 2020 |
I forgot to mention it in the last entry but when back-riding backwards on Sasha, Rahmet puffed fiercely at Marcel when he approached. Even when very young and dependent, he was taking no nonsense from other possums.
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| Rahmet back-riding on Sasha - 21st Feb 2020 [Photo by Xesce] |
At times it seems that he's a bit big to be back-riding, but Sasha is an experienced mother (Rahmet is her 10th known baby) and while she takes good care of her offspring, she doesn't coddle them unnecessarily.
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| Rahmet back-riding on Sasha - 16th Feb 2020 |
Although brushtails are supposed to occasionally eat invertebrates, I have never actually witnessed this happen until now. A butterfly flapped past Rahmet's face and he skillfully snatched it out of the air and devoured it. This wasn't an accident - he didn't mistake it for some other food item - he deliberately grabbed it and clearly enjoyed eating it.
It's a lesson that nature is red in tooth and claw and even the cutest little furry animals are part of it - and on the giving as well as the receiving end.
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| Rahmet eating butterfly - 6th Mar 2020 |
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| Rahmet the fierce carnivore - 6th Mar 2020 |
Rohan has not been seen again. As he was a large possum in good condition, I had thought that he might oust the much smaller Marcel and become the dominant male in the area, but it seems not. Possibly he just came here for mating purposes and has a territory elsewhere that he wants to retain.
Miel hasn't been back either. I hope he's doing well wherever he is.
Marcel is still around. Although not visible on the photos, some of his older pluckings are growing back fur and he has obtained some new pluckings around his neck.
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| Marcel - 2nd Mar 2020 [Photo by Xesce] |
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| Marcel - 2nd Mar 2020 [Photo by Xesce] |
I have cropped the photo above so that you can see the mosquitoes swarming around Marcel. There has been rain much of the time since the start of February and this has brought the garden back to life. Along with the Golden Orb Weavers and a large variety of butterflies and moths (all of which are welcome) there have also been a huge number of mosquitoes.
The mosquitoes can't get through the possums' fur, but still find places to bite. The under-side of their tails is a favourite place.
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| Close-up of mosquitoes - 2nd Mar 2020 [Photo by Xesce] |
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| Marcel - 2nd Mar 2020 [Photo by Xesce] |
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| Marcel - 2nd Mar 2020 [Photo by Xesce] |
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| Marcel - 2nd Mar 2020 [Photo by Xesce] |
There is not a great deal of other possum news. Nikita has not returned since last time, but the fact that she was still around and healthy was very good news. Possibly this area now belongs to Pebbles - who was seen with her two babies a couple of days ago - and Nikita managed to sneak back for a brief visit and couldn't stay.
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