New Zealand is known as the “sea bird capital of the world,” and bats are their only native land animal. Possums, hedgehogs, wild pigs, and any other species that currently reside here were introduced. Another fun fact- opossums are found in North America and are colloquially called "possums." In Australia/NZ, they are called possums and are actually not exactly the same.
[Side note- I have the terrible tendency to pronounce the “o” in “opossum.” I suffer from the inability to remember not to pronounce that silent letter in other words as well, such as sword. Of course, I was mocked in grade school for saying the “h” in “herb,” so I don’t make that mistake anymore. And here they pronounce the “h” and think it’s weird when I don’t. Go figure.]
Possums are a big pest here. They’re probably our equivalent to raccoons, but worse. They’re a nocturnal animal, but I have seen them a few times now that daylight is fading much earlier in the evening and I’m still out on a walk. I will say that those buggers gave me the biggest fright when I arrived here. I am just getting settled into my cottage, all by myself in a strange place and away from the main house. Just as I’m about to fall asleep, I heard the most horrific blood-thirsty animal call of my life. It sounded like a wild pig screaming, if you can imagine. Then I heard a thud as the creature landed on the roof. Naturally, I thought I was about to be murdered and thought it was quite sad that I made it less than two weeks in NZ. Later I discovered that fighting possums make those lovely battle cries and they also enjoy playing on the roof.
I will end with my first weta sighting. A weta basically looks like a giant grasshopper. I was convinced I’d be walking along and the thing would come flying out at me, making me scream like the girl I am. Happily, they don’t do that, and they are nocturnal. I’ve only seen one in the early morning while at Lake Taupo when I first arrived. The picture might not do it justice- it’s probably about 4” long!
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