Subtle Change in Speaker/Volume Levels: Further Possum Activity

We have modified several of the deployed units with the expressed purpose of checking and refining the volume levels of the speakers.   While we are currently conducting considerable trials in the effectiveness of the stoat based version of our units (thank you again Feral Control, Taranaki) we are also moving ahead with our brush tailed possum trials.

We have adjusted our speakers recently looking for something that is more subtle, particularly as we are seeing indications that possums are investigating everything and we believe that other animals that we want to target have a range of hearing more specific to a lower sound range.

Our first indications with our new version of the possum lure is again showing promise - on the very first night of trials we have had a sound lure unit, set up inside a rat box with a standard sound profile and had a Timms possum trap with fruit bait.   We have had a significant possum interaction with the unit - a brush tailed possum has appeared, spent time interacting with the unit - while it has spent time at the general site by far the most significant interactions have been between it and the sound unit, including repeated attempts by the animal to gain entrance to the box from the front and the back as shown in the photographs above.    It has taken fruit left at the site, eaten it, and been active at the site for forty minutes, including climbing over the rat box and investigating it extensively.   

We will be monitoring site one again, after a period of a break to determine what will happen with the new profile and how relative it will be for the trials.  We are also going to shortly create a specific possum sound lure trap.nz profile/project where we will be placing our results as we more forward with the final phase of our testing.

Please note due to a manual error in the camera setting the incorrect date and time have been displayed in the photographs that were taken overnight.   The correct date for the activations was the night of Saturday 10th of July/Sunday 11th of July.