I just discovered Possum

#1

Hello Ladies and Gents

I just wanted to inform you of a resource I had not even thought of before…

I went to camp this weekend, and one of my leaders showed me a pair of socks she had…they were so very soft!

She told me she had gone to New Zealand and bought a pair of Possum socks…

She went on to say that they are protected here, but they are a pest over there…

I, of course then asked her if she knit her socks, and she did not…

But since I have been home I have been seeking out Possum yarn, and it IS out there!

I need to get my hands on some…! When I do, I will report back!

#2

Opossum is protected in Canada???

No problem, just scare them and they’ll play dead. You can shear them while they’re ‘asleep’ … and hope they don’t wake up because they have some mean looking teeth. :wink:

#3

:rofl:

I think it is North America where they are protected…I haven’t researched it, it is just what I was told…

But none the less…it is very very soft…and very warm!

#4

Actually in doing a little research, it looks like possums are protected in Australia. http://www.aussiepossummen.com.au/

I was pretty sure they aren’t protected here in California but not sure about the rest of the states. They can be real pests here.

I would love to try some of that possum yarn though, it sounds intriguing.

#5

Nope, not protected in California, but they are in Pennsylvania. They aren’t native to California so they are an invasive species. Here’s the law in California re Opossums:

LEGAL STATUS

The California Fish and Game Code classifies opossum as nongame mammals. If you find opossum threatening growing crops or other property of which you are the owner or tenant, you may control the opossum using any legal means. Fish and Game Department regulations prohibit the relocation of wildlife without written permission from the department. Check to make sure there are no local restrictions pertaining to the removal of opossum prior to taking any action.

#6

I actually saw some possum yarn on Yarn Market’s Website. On the left side in the yarn finder window, just click ‘possum’ in the fiber content drop down box and it’ll bring up what they have available. There’s only 3 different ones and they’re all by Cherry Tree Hill.

ETA an off-topic tidbit: You can also find vicuna, qivuit, and guanaco yarns there. All apparently very soft, luxurious, and waaaaaaaaay out of my price range.

#7

They aren’t protected in Idaho or Washington that I know of. I actually haven’t seen that many of them here, but I was pretty alarmed about the number I’d see on the side of the road when I lived in Olympia.

Speaking of exotic yarn, I ran across this the other day:

Mink yarn

I sent them an email and asked them how they get the yarn without hurting the mink and they said they have to brush the fur out by hand. That must be quite an operation!

#8

I see them a lot on the back roads in the evenings, alive that is. We do see them dead on the road as well. The story is that when the dust bowl happend and the Okies and Arkies moved here, they brought them as food sources. They got into the wild and they thrive here. They are interesting animals that’s for sure. I’d love to try the yarn one of these days.

#9

I often see them in my backyard and I live in the city. I can’t even imagine the feel of the yarn considering that I wouldn’t ever think of touching one alive . .lol No offense to the opossums.

#10

:roflhard: I think that’s why I’m curious… they do look rather like giant alien rats…

#11

That’s how I get fur from my sister’s blue rabbit for tying flies. (It’s basically hand spinning it into a strand of yarn.)
With a brush you mainly get the undercoat which is what you want and picking the guard hairs out of clipped hair is a pain.

Beaver would be some nice yarn, although along with opossum would probably be too short to really be a great yarn.

I did some reading about NZ and opossums and it seems they are/were trying to figure out all kinds of ways to get rid of them and figuring out a financial use while banning the breeding of them seemed like a good plan.

#12

Speaking of alien rats, I think the guy who ran this ad was rather confused~

http://theinternetisterrible.com/wp-content/things/figure.PNG

:teehee:
Jan

#13

:roflhard: :roflhard: :roflhard:

#14

:shock: :roflhard:

#15

With the numbers squooshed along the road around here, I can’t imagine they’d be protected in GA!!!

Nor can I imagine making socks of them. They give me the creeps!

#16

I think they’re calling “protected” meaning it has a hunting season rather than protected meaning it is endangered and has no hunting season ever.

I don’t think there is anywhere in the US where opossum is protected like song birds are.

#17

Not friendly-I think he might be scared! :roflhard: :roflhard: :roflhard:

#18

I remember when I was going to get the ‘baby kitten’ out of the bush at my deck.Thankfully I realized what it was before my hand went into the bush!!! There’s a lot of ‘roadkill’ around here.

#19

The possum and the opossum are not the same animal.
The possum available for knitting originated in New Zealand due to their problems with the brush-tailed possum from Australia. More info here:
http://www.possumnz.com/Possum_Fact_File_3.aspx
including information on the differences.
Brush-tailed possum are rather cute, if a problem where they are not supposed to be.

#20

Those certainly aren’t protected here.