LONG-DISTANCE MOVEMENTS OF JUVENILE BRUSHTAIL POSSUMS (TRICHOSURUS-VULPECULA) ON FARMLAND, HAWKES-BAY, NEW-ZEALAND

Long-distance movements of juvenile male and female brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) at a farmland site, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, were studied by radio-tracking. About 20% of radio-tagged possums disp ersed more than 2 km, moving up to 11.5 km from their natal area, most in a north-easterly direction. The proportion of males that dispersed was higher than that of females, but the difference was not statistic ally significant. All juveniles dispersing did so before they were one year old. The bimodal timing of dispersal in summer and late winter t o early spring reflected an underlying similar pattern of breeding. Mo st possums made several moves before settling. A higher proportion of possums dispersed from the low-density area of pastoral and cropping l and than from the higher-density areas of swamp and willows. A few dis persal records of ear-tagged animals were also obtained; most records were of males from the area of pastoral and cropping land, and movemen ts ranged from 3 to 25 km.