The Children's Theatre Ed Pack (2007)

Part Four

Possum[1]

·        There are many types of possums that live in Australia and New Guinea

·        In New Zealand, the possum is not a native animal as they were introduced

·        Possums are known well for adapting to town and city life. They often visit household dwellings during the night. Varieties like the Common Ringtail Possum learn to eat flowers and fruit from the garden to survive

·        ‘Although the Common Brushtail and (to a lesser extent) ringtail possums have adapted well to the urban environment, many of the lesser-known species are reduced in number, threatened, or endangered’[2]

·        Possums are classified as mammals, as they feed their young on milk. They are warm-blooded creatures and ‘like many Australian mammals, possums are marsupials’

·        The term Marsupials is pronounced ‘mar-soup-e-als’

·        Possums are known as marsupials as their young develop ‘inside their mother then finish outside her body, usually in her pouch’

·        Possums have two front teeth in their lower jaw, just like koalas, wombats and kangaroos

·        They differ from other marsupials such as quolls and bandicoots, who have six front teeth

·        There are five types of small Australian possums, including the common ringtail possum, cuscuses, gliders, brushtail possums and pygmy-possums

·        Gliders, for instance, ‘have folds of skin between their legs. These folds allow a glider to glide from tree to tree’

·        Possums have three types of teeth, including incisors, canines and molars.

THE COMMON RINGTAIL POSSUM

·        Possibly the best known variety of possum is the Common Ringtail Possum

·        They have received their name from their coiled, ring-like tails. Their tail can grip on to tree branches, a technique which is ‘said to be prehensile’

·        They live in all Australia states, with the exception of the Northern Territory

·        Like all mammals, the Common Ringtail Possums are warm-blooded creatures

·        A Common Ringtail Possum weighs up to about 1.1 kilograms and can grow up to 35 centimetres long. Their tails themselves can grow up to 35 centimetres long and have a white tip

·        The possums are usually grey-brown, ‘with a white chest and white markings behind their ears’. Some possums can have rusty-red coloured fur

·        As a result of spending most of their time in trees, a Common Ringtail Possums paws need to be strong, with sharp claws. They have five toes on their front paw, and four toes on the back (the second and third toes are connected)

Possum tracks:

Source:  Macmillan Education Australia

·        The Common Ringtail Possum eats gum tree leaves, with a special fondness for fresh, new gum leaves

·        These possums build nests in trees called drey. The dreys often consist of ‘a ball of twigs, bark and leaves’. They also can build nests in the hollows of trees

·        The Common Ringtail Possum is most active at night, and it communicates to others ‘with soft twittering calls’

·        The possums droppings are referred to as scats, and the Common Ringtail Possum’s scats look like fat sausages

·        A natural enemy of the Common Ringtail Possum include nocturnal birds such as owls. ‘Aboriginals also used to hunt Common Ringtails for food and their furs’

BREEDING CYCLE

·        The young are born, usually, two at a time. After being born, they ‘crawl into their mother’s pouch and feed on her milk to finish developing’

·        The Common Ringtail Possums are normally born about two weeks after mating occurs. Possums are about seven millimetres long, weigh less than a gram, and are normally born blind, and hairless

·        The young feed on one of four teats inside their mother’s pouch

·        At four months, the Common Ringtail Possum has fully opened eyes, teeth and fur. They normally ride ‘around on their mother’s or father’s back’ as they are too big for the pouch

·        At six months, possums are independent, however they often still share their mother’s nest

POSSUMS IN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

·        A Problem with Possums by Cecily Cox

·        Possum Goes to School by Melanie Cater

·        Possum in the House by Kiersten Jensen

·        Possum Magic by Mem Fox

Royal Canadian Mounted Police[3]

·        Canadian national police service

·        Also known as Mounties

·        Both the federal and national police force of Canada

HISTORY

·        descended from the North West Mounted Police (founded in 1873) and the Dominion Police (founded in 1868)

·        North West Mounted Police was given the term “Royal” in 1904 becoming the Royal North West Mounted Police

·        When the two forces merged in 1920 it became the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Force

·        was not only a policing agency: its commissioned officers could serve as justices of the peace, with limited authority to conduct trials at law

·        mediated conflicts between Indigenous peoples and settlers

·        had been intended as a temporary force that would disappear when settlement was complete

·        During World War I (1914-1918) took on national duties in the areas of security and intelligence

UNIFORM

·        The RCMP are famous for their distinctive Red Serge, a scarlet ceremonial uniform with a Stetson hat with a wide flat brim which is worn on special occasions, and the Musical Ride

·        On normal duties, the RCMP uses standard police methods, equipment, and uniforms

·        Horses are no longer used operationally by any unit

·        dark blue trousers with yellow-gold strapping (stripes)

·        modern style brown riding boots

·        everyday uniform: grey shirt with dark blue tie, dark blue trousers with gold stripes, regular patrol boots, regular patrol equipment, and policeman style cap

ORGANISATION AND DUTIES

·        force’s headquarters in the national capital, Ottawa

·        more than 700 detachments across Canada

·        responsible for policing in isolated rural towns and urban areas; protection service for the Prime Minister and the Canadian government, visiting dignitaries, and diplomatic missions; enforcement of federal laws; counter-terrorism and domestic security; and various international policing efforts

·        Largest police force in Canada with (as of January 2007) an establishment of over 24,000

·        operates marine and air divisions and five crime laboratories

·        The modern Mountie travels by airplane, automobile, boat, snowmobile, and power toboggan

Seal[4]

·        Ancestors of seals were land mammals that returned to the sea

·        excellent and efficient swimmers

·        make and hear sounds underwater

·        Their whoops, screams, barks, moans, and wails are used in simple communication, such as mating calls and territorial defence

·        still unknown if seals use reflected underwater sound waves, or echolocation, to navigate through the depths or to track prey

·        Seals conserve oxygen for long periods of time, enabling them to stay submerged at great depths, much longer than humans can

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

·        large aquatic mammals distinguished by having all four legs fully adapted into flippers

·        streamlined and flexible bodies

·        Propel themselves through the water with their rear flippers

·        Use front flippers for steering

·        are so flexible that they can nearly touch their rear flippers with their nose when bending backward

·        When seals submerge underwater their nostrils close

·        pupils of their eyes expand widely to capture light in near darkness automatically

·        Adult seals produce a thick layer of fat, called blubber, under their skin, which is an excellent insulator against the cold

·        Blubber is also used to store energy for times when food is scarce; seals can live off the stored fat in blubber for weeks to months

DIET

·        Most seals eat fish and sometimes squid

·        leopard seal commonly hunts penguins and other seabirds, smaller seals, as well as fish, squid, krill, and other invertebrates, as well as feeding on carcasses of dead whales

HABITAT

·        Most seals live in cold waters near the Arctic and Antarctic

·        Some true seals live under ice for much of the year, finding cracks between ice floes or scattered holes in order to breath

·        Most eared seals live well away from icebound areas

Eared Seals

·        This family of seals is at least 12 million years old

·        Represented in Australian waters by the Australian sea-lion and the Australian and New Zealand fur-seals

·        Small external ears

·        Move on land using all four limbs

·        Larger necks than ‘true’ seals

·        Teeth similar to those of terrestrial carnivores

·        Members of the family Otariidae

True Seals

·        Do not have external ears

·        Hind limbs are directed backwards so they cannot use them on land

·        Most prefer the colder seas of the Arctic and Antarctic

·        Members of the family Phocidae