by Garry Sullivan,
General Manager, Wildlife Habitat
Ever heard of a Striped Possum? Me either until I started working at the Wildlife Habitat and found out we are attempting to breed them.
These rare (even more threatened now due to Habitat destruction thanks to Cyclone Yasi) shy nocturnal marsupials are relatively unheard off outside of the conservation and wildlife circles.
These possums (Dactylopsila Trivirgata) are endemic to the wet tropics of Queensland and PNG and are in decline due to habitat destruction, so next time your out foraging for fire wood or looking to clear some land around the farm or you house think about these little creatures.
The striped possum is a solitary animal, venturing out at night to munch on flowers, fruits, beetle larvae and pollen. During the day, it rests on a bed of leaves inside a tree hollow or clump of ferns.
In places with coconut palms, it's not unusual to hear a commotion as the possum uses its chisel-like teeth to gnaw through leaves and bark in search of insects causing shreds of leaves and trunk to fall to the ground. It will also bite into dead branches or fallen logs to get at borers or grubs.
It’s noisy, it growls a lot and smells very unpleasant, but even with these traits most of us would not spot it in the rainforest canopy unless we were very patient and quiet.
If you visit the Daintree Wilderness Lodge they some times can be spotted around the pool area or in a few months after breeding has finished, here at the Wildlife Habitat.
Better still grab a torch, your sense of adventure, head into the bush, breath in some fresh air and find one yourselves. If you don’t see a stripped possum, don’t be upset, them and all their nocturnal friends have probably had fun watching you anyway.
We should not speculate just what impact cyclone Yasi has had on the species. I will speculate though that these animals will probably thrive because their favourite food - wood eating grubs - will be in abundance as the woody debris in the forest is chomped up by grubs. Many insectivorous species of birds and mammals often recover rapidly following catastrophic defoliation of forest be it by cyclone or fire.
I don't doubt that the species may tend to be a solitary forager but I can assure you that every time that I have had my attention drawn to them around my house in Smithfield they have usually been in pairs or even threes. Despite their small size they can be very noisy; they crash into tree foliage and they also make loud guttural growls, certainly enough to get my attention and so I get to see them. They have on occasions used my verandah rail as a transit lane from one tree to another.
The only other possum I get to see in Smithfield is the Green Possum which visits briefly around October so the striped possum is my only full time resident possum (at 100 metres ASL) and always a delight to see.
If this story encourages people to go and spend some time in the outdoor environment looking for these creatures and others like it, then the article has done its job.
Not once have I encouraged people to visit our park via this article or used it as a marketing tool. The word ‘rare’ can be interpreted in many different ways. I am sure it’s a rare experience for most people to spot one of these animals, in the wild or in captivity for that matter. The creatures might be common to you or the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species however I am sure they are rare as far as some others think.
Habitat destruction has happened due to Cyclone Yasi, you only have to travel to Tully to see this.
Somehow in your mind you’re not getting the important message.
Nature is precious, get out there and see it.
Ps: As for fat coffers, were running a interpretive kids club daily over the school holidays to educate and encourage kids to enjoy the environment, its not revenue driven and neither is our wildlife after hours call out service.
Pss: If you want to come and chat to a Stupid, Rusted, Left Wing Neo Socialist, (you obviously know me well) come in to the Wildlife Habitat, I am the General Manager and would be happy to talk any time.
The mis-information this naive wildlife park worker spruiks is not only misleading,but totally unfounded and false.
Firstly the animals are not endemic to Australia,in fact they are abundant through PNG,irian jaya,and also Indonesia.They are also common from townsville north to the cape.
I hate how stupid people that exist in parks label everything as threatened or endangered when there is no evidence to suggest this assertion. Secoundly, provide me evidence of prior population densities prior to Yasi,and a follow up peer reviewed study suggesting a decline. Unlikely given no such prior examination has occured and that yasi has only recently occurred!
Just because wildlife departments are incapable of finding animals,it does not justify them referring to them as vulnerable,threatened or even endangered! What people must realise is that the majority of people that work in these departments are rusted on left wing neo socialists that promote the idea of diminishing wildlife to create more rules and more funds for their corrupt,nepotistic fat coffers.Tune into reality and start telling the truth!!!!!!!!!
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