Responses of common brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) to translocation on farmland, southern North Island, New Zealand

The behaviour, movements and fate of radio-tagged brushtail possums (Tricho surus vulpecula) were studied after they were translocated between sites on farmland in two areas in the southern North Island, New Zealand. At both s ites some possums remained near the release site while others moved up to 1 2.5 km before settling. At one site, four possums returned distances of abo ut 3.9 km from the release site to their sites of capture (homing), with tw o of these homing successfully twice. Translocated possums displayed some o f the characteristics of naturally dispersing possums but, unlike them, the ir long-distance movements were not male-biased nor made particularly by ju veniles. The location and availability of suitable nest sites appeared to i nfluence the movements of translocated possums, but no other major influenc es of landscape features on their patterns of movement were detected. Survi val during the first 9 weeks after translocation was not influenced by sex, age, weight, distance moved or time since release. Translocated possums on New Zealand farmland, where the main predators are people and vehicles, su ffered much lower mortality than possums in a similar study in Australia, w here canids, particularly foxes, were a major cause of death.