Feeding-Behavior and Diet of the Common Ringtail Possum, Pseudocheirus-Peregrinus, in Eucalyptus Woodlands and Leptospermum Thickets in Southern Victoria

Abstract

The foliage of Eucalyptus spp. contributed 61-98% of the annual diet of ringtails at sites dominated by Eucalyptus spp. or prickly teatree, Leptospermum juniperinum. Up to 45% of the Eucalyptus foliage consumed was young, and young foliage was mostly eaten during spring and summer. The remainder of the diet consisted of foliage of several species of shrub and significant proportions of the diet of one population consisted of flowers and/or flower buds of Eucalyptus maculata during winter. The proportion of shrub foliage eaten was generally highest at sites dominated by less preferred Eucalyptus spp., such as E. tereticornis, E. camaldulensis and E. botryoides, compared to sites dominated by the favoured species, E. ovata, E. dives, and E. maculata. Ringtails in thickets of coast teatree, L. laevigatum, fed predominantly on foliage of that species. The proportions of Eucalyptus and shrub foliage eaten by different populations did not appear to be correlated with availability, suggesting that ringtails fed selectively from the foods available. Food selection was practised at four levels: between species, trees, leaves and leaf parts. Partly digested leaf material appeared to have been consumed by pouch young before they had begun to feed on foliage.