Update 30th Nov 2020 - Some sad news

There has been some sad news.

Rahmet (bottom) and Pax (top) - 15^th Nov 2020

If you have ongoing contact with possums, you will inevitably have to deal with some tragedy. Possums live dangerous lives and it's only a matter of time before something distressing happens - and usually when you least expect it.

It's still unclear exactly what happened but some time on the night of 25^th to 26^th of November Rahmet was killed. 

The photo above is the last photo taken of Rahmet.

Rahmet was found in a neighbour's yard. The cause of death is unknown. She had no visible wounds and she looked peaceful. The only thing out of the ordinary was a little blood on her lips and some loose fur.

Rahmet seemed the least likely possum to get into trouble. She was already cautious to avoid conflict with Sasha and she was being particularly vigilant on behalf of Pax. 

There was a great disruption amongst the other possums at this time. The following day, Wink was acting very nervous and even distressed and she and Sasha ended up sharing a possum apartment in the garage - normally they sleep on opposite sides of the garage and pretend the other doesn't exist. Normally, in addition to Rahmet, there would be three other possums - Sasha, Wink and Pax - visiting as soon as it got dark, but that evening none of these possums visited at all, and instead only Marcel visited much later. The next night, Sasha slept in Box 1 for the first time. 

I think it's possible that the recent hot weather has brought out a python and it constricted Rahmet but was then unable to eat her - maybe it was a small one after Pax and Rahmet intervened. This would explain the loose fur (pulled out in her struggles to get free) and lack of external injuries. It would also explain why all of the other possums have been acting scared.

It's also possible that she was hit by a car on the road and died soon after from internal injuries, although it's not clear why this would cause the other possums to disrupt their schedules. 

Rahmet will be very much missed. We watched her grow up from being a little baby to having a baby of her own. She quickly learned how to be a good mother to little Pax. She was an intelligent and skillful possum; bold enough to get what was hers, but prudent enough to avoid unnecessary conflict. She was a great friend of the humans.

Goodbye little Rahmet.

Rahmet - 4^th Aug 2020

Pax looks old enough to survive on her own (I think Pax is female). She had got to the stage where she was foraging for food on her own and would only hop onto Rahmet's back when she was nervous, and she was starting to get a bit big for that. Hopefully the other possums will consider that she's too small to be a rival and will let her stay in the area.

Pax - 17^th Nov 2020

Pax - 17^th Nov 2020

In better news, Sasha is in good health and with a new baby in the pouch.

Sasha - 31^st Oct 2020

The baby came out briefly when she was in Box 1 recently, but it's not active enough to give a Baby Possum Alert yet. This is the first time that Sasha has slept in Box 1.

Sasha with baby in Box 1 - 27^th Nov 2020

Wink is also in good health with no injuries, except that she had a little fur plucked out of her rump by Sasha. Wink and Sasha both still sleep in the garage most days.

Wink - 20^th Nov 2020

Wink - 20^th Nov 2020

Marcel is also in good health. Earlier in the month he picked up a wound to the top of his head, but that healed without any problems. I don't have a photo of Marcel from the current month (except some photos of his wound, taken for the record in case it got worse and needed treatment), but I'll post this relatively recent one rather than delay posting this entry to get another one. 

Marcel - 5^th Oct 2020

There has also been a third brush turkey chick sighted. This one looked as if had only just hatched a few hours previously. 

Brush Turkey Chick - 18^th Nov 2020