Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/01/18/this-australian-possum-is-just.html
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Look at it’s little paws!!!
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So cute!!
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Look at those eyes. It’s moving in for the kill.
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But the paws! So cute!
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They are adorable! Also, not long for this world.
This is a New Zealand possum, and they are incredibly soft and snuggly, but also are an invasive species that’s destroying the native wildlife in NZ… so they’ve launched a program to completely eradicate it by 2050. As well as all other small predators. It’s kinda crazy, but well, NZ.
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Makes note to create new meme: Overly Positive Possum
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But it would be so cute as it’s ripping my throat out!!
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Frankly I wish NZ success. The NZ ecosystem had no native land mammals. Those that are there now were all introduced by humans. Australian possums were introduced to NZ to be raised for their fur, escaped, and once loose in an ecosystem with no natural predators they created a lot of damage. Australian possums aren’t threatened in their natural habitat, getting rid of them in NZ would be akin to getting rid of fire ants in the US.
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Me too. When I visited there a few years back, that fact blew my mind. Learning about the damage they’ve caused to the kiwi and poor kakapo made me understand why they want to get rid of the fuzzy little dudes completely.
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Right on!
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That programme is actually pretty cool.
Sir Paul was my physics lecturer for first year physics, back in the day, and he was a really neat and good guy. He died a few weeks after this speech.
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