Possum photographed adrift near Kapiti Island
Media release
Date: 10 August 2012
Possum
photographed adrift near Kapiti Island
An adult possum has
been photographed and filmed floating on a log near
Wellington’s Kapiti Island.
Alan Wood, Mike Maybe
and Joshua Morgan (Alan’s nephew) were fishing on 8 July
2012 when they spotted the possum floating on a log about 60
metres from the western side of Kapiti Island. They saw the
possum twice, first at about 11.00am, heading south with the
outgoing tide and then again at 3.30pm heading north. Alan
Wood took photographs and a film with his cell phone and
passed them on to DOC on 27 July.
Click for big version.
Castaway - the Possum Floating Near Kapiti Island
This is the first time DOC’s Kapiti Wellington Area has seen evidence of a possum floating on driftwood and they believe that this could be how a stoat arrived on the predator-free island in 2010. Monitoring and trapping is continuing since the presence of the stoat was confirmed, but the prospect of a stowaway possum would not pose the same level of threat to the island sanctuary. DOC spokesperson Colin Giddy says that the worst case scenario would be if the possum was a female with a male joey.
Click for big version.
“In that instance there would be a breeding population after one to two years when the male reaches sexual maturity. Possums generally have only one young per year,” said Mr Giddy.
However, Mr Giddy
adds that it’s unlikely that this animal washed up on the
island. Staff have been scouring the beaches for the very
distinctive wishbone-shaped log which will have a number of
possum scratches and possibly possum bite marks, but it has
not been located.
Click for big version.
DOC urges the public to contact the
DOCHOTline- 0800 36024068 immediately if they suspect animal
pests on or approaching any of our offshore islands.
ENDS