Losing a War to the Opossums
Considering myself a minor, if biased, authority on the opossum, I should like to inject my opinions into the Great Opossum Debate of 1987. Not Dr. Anita Henness, not any member of the Southern California Opossum Club need worry that the possum will find its name on the endangered species list anytime soon. The animal is, I lament to say, alive and well in Westminster.
Having a number of fruit trees in the yard, my authority on this animal is limited largely to its predatory habits, which are considerable. Inasmuch as the fruits on these sundry trees ripen at different times throughout the year, we are plagued by this varmint on an almost constant basis.
The avocado tree is currently the object of their affections. Of the 150 or so avocados borne in a good year, the possum will eat about half and ruin another quarter. The oranges available to it are neatly hollowed out, leaving a rind that looks like a modern work of art. I seldom see a ripened fig; they disappear in a chorus of leaf-rustling during the night. The peaches and plums tend to go the same route.
The scoreboard is not all one-sided, though I’ve given only a fraction of what I’ve taken. To preserve a vestige of control over the situation, I began to trap these nightly nuisances several years ago. A twice-monthly call to Animal Control from the self-styled Opossum King relieves me of yet another nocturnal marauder. And yet they come. I have no grand illusions about this unequal combat. I’m losing both the battles and the war.
I work quite hard to provide the trees with water, fertilizer, pruning, thinning, weeding, spraying and raking leaves. At most, all I have to show for these efforts is instant recognition by Animal Control.
If the fine folk of the club wish to have a peculiar fondness for this relentless pest, why, I’m sure that this is allowable under the civil codes of our region. A large majority of the rest of the local population, however, and especially the ill-afflicted, will not be easily amenable to either conversion or the offering of protection or sanctuary.
STEWARD SHERMIS
Westminster
