Long-distance movments of juvenile brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) on farmland, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand

Abstract

Long-distance movements of juvenile male and female brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) at a farmland site, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, were studied by radio-tracking. About 20% of radio-tagged possums dispersed more than 2 km, moving up to 11.5 km from their natal area, most in a north-easterly direction. The proportion of males that dispersed was higher than that of females, but the difference was not statistically significant. All juveniles dispersing did so before they were one year old. The bimodal timing of dispersal in summer and late winter to early spring reflected an underlying similar pattern of breeding. Most possums made several moves before settling. A higher proportion of possums dispersed from the lowdensity area of pastoral and cropping land than from the higher-density areas of swamp and willows. A few dispersal records of ear-tagged animals were also obtained; most records were of males from the area of pastoral and cropping land, and movements ranged from 3 to 25 km.