££>~{}~£+¥¥<\]1?'climate disruption! Last night I went out in the evening to bring in the washing, and found a young ringtailed possum on my back porch. Old enough not to need its mother's milk anymore, young enough that it should still have been with its mum to learn how to hunt and forage (they eat a mix of leaves, flowers, fruit, insects, seed heads of grasses, birds eggs, nectar, tree seeds and whatever else they can find, depending on the local environment and time of year). This one was clearly terrified as well as physically distressed. It was trying to break into the container of poultry food (a mix of oats, barley, millet, lentils, peas, wheat and sunflower seeds).
Once I realised its mum was nowhere in sight and it looked very skinny, I put down a scoop of the poultry food for it, along with a bowl of water and a few slices of apple. This afternoon I was out in the garden trying to salvage what I can of the plum crop, which is falling off the trees from heat stress as the apples were doing a few days ago. And there it was, under the plum tree after the fallen fruit, in broad daylight. They are generally a nocturnal animal. At least this time it knew not to be scared of me.
We do have local wildlife carers, but they are already swamped with orphans, and this little guy does seem to be managing on his own with a little help. I don't care to hand-tame the animals who share my place, they have their own lives and don't need to be made dependent on humans. But I figure if a little discreet help will let him survive I'll give it. I think I have figured out where he is sleeping, and he should be safe there. I'll be very, very glad of cooler weather.
This is shaping up to be a tough year in the garden for me and the wildlife both.
