David Hare-Scott wrote:
I have ripe oranges on the tree. Something is stealing and eating them.
Four fruit have been taken off the tree and left a few metres away.
Each has a neat round hole cut in the side about 5cm across, the small
bits of skin were left scattered about. The predator has then neatly
eaten all the flesh of the orange leaving an empty skin with a hole in
it. No bird or animal has been sighted nearby. There are no
identifiable bite marks anywhere to give away the culprit.

The bats have left for warmer latitudes and in any case they cannot eat
on the ground.

A mouse couldn't move the whole fruit and wouldn't need a hole that big.

There are no stray gouges from teeth marks that rats so often leave
when they eat something sizeable so if it is a rat it is the neatest one
ever seen who was very focussed on getting to the flesh while chewing
the least amount of skin.

Rabbits would go for all manner of other things in the garden before
oranges and there are no droppings.

I am thinking it is a possum.

Any views?

David





Rat
Bait the trap with liquorice and wire to the trunk