Have you seen a possum?

Predator Free Dunedin and its Delivery Partners recently ran the first annual “Spotlight on Possums” event.

On a chilly night in June, hundreds of people from across Dunedin went outside for an hour to look for possums in backyards and local parks.

Otago Peninsula Biodiversity Group volunteers get a safety briefing at Vauxhall Yacht Club before venturing out in the cold to look for possums.

The Otago Peninsula Biodiversity Group were especially keen to hear about possum sightings as they get closer to the goal of eradication on the Peninsula. In total, we had nearly 200 reports with just 27 confirmed sightings and traps were deployed where possums had been spotted.

This event highlighted the power of people to help achieve our vision for a Predator Free Dunedin. We have now launched a reporting tool so people can let us know about possum sightings all year round!

Chess pieces were used to deploy volunteer teams to certain areas on the Otago Peninsula during the Spotlight on Possums event.

Report possums all year round

Our Report a Possum form will send an immediate notification with the exact location of your possum sighting, plus other information about what you saw. It will help us to map where possums are present in different parts of the city.

On the Otago Peninsula where we will eradicate possums, it means we can respond quickly to any sightings or hot spot areas.

The next time you see a possum in Dunedin – dead or alive – let us know about it on our Report a Possum form.