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Hi Possum!


I saw this wee mural on the wall outside a shop in Hokitika 2 weeks ago. The artist is Clare Reilly from Christchurch and she has been painting/exhibiting her artwork for over 3 decades. Possums, as cute as they are, are pests here. They eat our native flora and take away food sources from our native birds and creatures.

They were introduced from Australia in in 1837 because of their fur and there are many shops throughout the country which sell products made from it. Although a bit expensive the clothing is extremely popular with tourists. Some people have Possums as pets, in fact I remember one of my cousins had one many years ago.

Linking up with Mural Monday.

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Comments

local alien said…
We have a couple of hats made from possum fur. So soft and warm!!
6 June 2022 at 06:03
Fun60 said…
They do look very cute with those big eyes.
6 June 2022 at 06:47
Tom said…
...possums are the only marsupials in North America.
6 June 2022 at 08:31
Yogi♪♪♪ said…
Nice mural. After reading your post I got to wondering if they are native to the USA. We have plenty of them. Mr. Google tells me that they are native, but out of 65 species of possums only is native. to north america. So, hey I learned something because of your post.
6 June 2022 at 09:15
smkelly8 said…
I like the mural. I have only see possums a few times. There's something about they way they waddle that I don't like. Not my favorite animal.
6 June 2022 at 15:27
Sami said…
What a cute mural. I've only seen possums when we holiday in the country area south of Perth. Thanks for participating in Monday Murals.
6 June 2022 at 16:18
Dee said…
That possum is painted beautifully! Lovely find. :)
6 June 2022 at 17:29
Iris Flavia said…
Snow. "Yikes".
Yes, possums can be quite a pest, also in Australia. They have no fear of people...
Yet... they really are kinda cute!
6 June 2022 at 18:17
Klara said…
they do look cute. :-)
7 June 2022 at 06:27
Bleubeard and Elizabeth said…
They are cute, but they are also pests in the states, too. I had an entire family of possums living under my front porch until I was able to board up the place where they were getting in. I made sure there were no babies under there when I took care of the problem. This mural is well done, though.

7 June 2022 at 07:35
William Kendall said…
That is wonderfully done.
7 June 2022 at 11:41
magiceye said…
Beautiful mural.
7 June 2022 at 13:24
Tigger's Mum said…
Over 40 years ago i looked after a friend's pet possum for a weekend. I knew, but you omitted to mention, they are nocturnal. So it wrecked the place at night while we were sleeping. Each night it got confined to a smaller indoors dpace until we locked it in the toulet and launfy area for the last night and it still managed to unravel all ths toilet paper...2 or three rolls of the stuff. Grrrrrrrr. They rank up there with grey squirrels in UK - possibly even higher because grey squirrels have predators (pine martens) and possums only have to worry about humans (and strangely we have never succeeded in wiping the blighters out). Never run over one with your car. They hzve tough bones that puncture tyres. I could go on and on with possum stories....
7 June 2022 at 16:06
Bertiebo said…
Interesting to read the comments. I knew nothing about possums and now I do. And it's a nice mural
7 June 2022 at 16:52
Sallie (FullTime-Life) said…
Whew, he looks like a possum on steroids. ... they were introduced to Oregon also generations ago -- by people who moved there from the Southern States where hunting them (and I guess eating them) was popular. Nobody does that anymore and they have thrived -- and they are garden pests there as well.
8 June 2022 at 04:11
csuhpat1 said…
That is a cool mural
8 June 2022 at 12:46
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