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Otago Daily Times

Sightings to identify possum hot spots

St Hilda's Collegiate international student Yu Yamaguchi, 17, (left) and host sister Kayla van Horik, 17, of Queen's High School, 17, get out into their Highcliff Rd backyard on Saturday night to take part in a Dunedin-wide survey to find out how many possums are living among us. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON Dunedin residents are being asked to rug up, step outside into the night and keep their eyes and ears peeled for furry pests holed up in backyards across the city. Predator Free Dunedin's annual Spotlight on Possums event began on Saturday — a city-wide survey to identify possum hot spots. A spokesperson said having everyone look at the same time would help map where possums were in high and low numbers across the city. "Anytime after dark, get yourself rugged up warm and head outside and look for possums," they said. "You could look in your backyard or take a walk to your local park or reserve." People were asked to make a report of their findings — whether they saw the pest or not. "Our goals are to eradicate possums from the Otago Peninsula, to reduce their numbers to 'zero density' across 10,000 hectares in West Harbour-Mt Cargill, and to reduce their numbers to low levels in the city and across 35,000 hectares west of State Highway 1." Spotlight on Possums is a joint initiative between the group, Otago Peninsula Biodiversity Group, the Halo Project and City Sanctuary. It will run until Friday. The report form can be found at — APL