Officials worry about opossums on B.C. island 6

Document text

--> --> Officials worry about opossums on B.C. island HORNBY ISLAND, British Columbia (AP) - Provincial wildlife officials are concerned by the expanding Virginia opossum population on this island in the Strait of Georgia. "They're so prolific and highly reproductive," said Doug Janz, a fish and wildlife manager. "It's a local problem and we'd like to contain it." Two of the cat-sized marsupials arrived on the island, about 80 miles northwest of Vancouver, a few decades ago. Their descendants rummage through garbage and compost piles and eat songbirds and small mammals. When threatened, the animals can be vicious or pretend to be dead. "They don't have many predators on Hornby," said Colleen Work, a local resident. "They're a real nuisance and they multiply." The government is considering hiring an island resident to check opossum traps regularly and take any live animals to a veterinarian to be humanely killed. Janz said the only species that seems to benefit from the opossums is the turkey vulture, which feeds on road kill. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing