Community & Business
10 March, 2022
Creating homes to help keep Tablelands furry critters safe
THE newly-formed Yungaburra Men’s Shed has already been busily working away creating new possum boxes for Tablelands Wildlife Rescue.
The possum boxes are made from structural ply and hang 4m high and provide a safe home for the furry little fellows.
Tablelands Wildlife Rescue’s Cathie Archer reached out to the Men’s Shed when she heard they were forming and asked if they would like to create the homes for possums.
“Brush tail possums like to sleep during the day in hollows in trees, but these are in short supply due to a lack of mature trees in their habitat,” she said.
“When the Yungaburra Men’s Shed recently formed, they were looking for a community project and so I requested some boxes be made for the Coppery and Common Brushtail Possum population at Peterson creek.
“They will be erected in tall trees at a height of approximately 4m which is recommended to help keep them safe from predators.”
After receiving the request from Cathie, Men’s Shed members Martin Williams, Terry McCarthy, Kevin Mackenzie and Terry Kehoe got straight to work, constructing the large homes.
The boxes will not only benefit the possums, but the human population as well because the boxes provide an alternative for the animals having to make nests in the roofs of local homes.
“They are made to a specific design for Brushtail possums who will sleep in them during the day high in trees yet to be located between Allumbah Pocket and Frawleys Pool along Peterson’s Creek,” Cathie said.
“As many people have struggled over the years with possums in the roofs of their houses, it is hoped drawing them away from domestic living will prevent them from being attacked by cats and dogs and unfortunately baited by rat bait which kills them slowly and cruelly through internal bleeding.”
Possums are a protected species in Australia, with the Atherton Tablelands hosting both the Coppery Brushtail and the Common Brushtail.
The Tablelands Wildlife Rescue often take in these possums when they are injured or orphaned, and giving them a safer home is hoped to keep them safe and sound for longer.
