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Mears Bush
Wildlife at Mears Bush
Possums
Rats
Image source: Predator Free Zone NZ
Photo credi: Geoff Wilson
Possums can be seen at daytime
Scientific name: Trichosurus vulpecula
Common name: Possum
Maori name: Paiha
Possums were introduced from Australia. They were introduced to New Zealand in 1837. Their scientific name comes from the Greek word meaning 'Furry tailed'. Plus the Latin meaning 'Little fox'.
Possums are nocturnal which means they sleep during the day but they will come out during the day especially when food is scarce.
Image source: Predator Free Zone NZ
Photo credit: Bernard Dupont
Rats kill our native birds.
Scientific name: Rattus
Common name: Rat
Maori name: Kiore
Rats are an introduced species they came over to New Zealand on lots of different ships and boats. They are now known as one of the pests of New Zealand. Around Mears Bush they have been putting up different traps to catch these feral things.
Aotearoa has no native rats. It was once a non rattus country!
Image source: Predator Free Zone NZ
Photo credit: Willen van Aken - CSIRO
Possums compete with native animals for food.
Typically Possums are 65 to 95 centimeters long. They can weight from 1.5 to 5 kilograms. The diet consists of buds, flowers, fruit and nectar. This means they compete with a lot of birds for food. Possums also eat eggs and insects. This includes Weta and snails, native or not. They don't care. Due to their favourite foods, Possums are a danger to native birds and insects.
Image source: Predator Free Zone NZ
Photo credit: David Mudge - Department of Conservation
A rat robbing a nest of its eggs.
The reason we need to get rid of rats is because they are omnivores. Which means they eat birds, chicks, eggs, weta, snails, lizards, fruit, larvae, seeds, and flowers. Rats have a mixed diet, making them competitors with the native wildlife for food sources. They transmit diseases to humans and other wildlife animals through their poop, urine, and saliva.
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