Australians are baffled after a gardening enthusiast made an unbelievable discovery on their lemon tree. The homeowner was shocked to find that the lemons on his citrus tree had completely peeled off, after a mysterious “neat” creature had peeled them overnight, leaving most of the fruit inside intact. Speculation is rife as to who the hungry visitor could be.
A resident of the Southern Highlands of New South Wales posted photos on social media of the remains of lemons that were still hanging from tree branches but had been completely stripped of their skin, saying the culprit hadn't left behind any “broken branches or debris.” He said the peeled lemons were often found in the centre of the tree, next to plenty of untouched fruit.
His post was inundated with comments from people reporting the same thing happening to their own lemon trees, sparking fierce debate over whether a parrot, possum or rat was the work, with one person joking that the creature was “eating the pith”, while another said it must be an animal that likes “lemon cake and lemon butter”.
But what do the experts say? Peter the Possum and Bird Man's owner, Stephen Knights, told Yahoo News Australia that he suspects the bite marks suggest it was a rat.
“That's a cranky mouse,” said the Kite. “A parrot or a brushtail possum would leave a bigger bite mark, and it could even be a brushtail possum, but I'll bet on a mouse!”
WIRES spokesman John Grant said the “jury is still out” on what creature attacked Lemon, but it was almost certainly a possum or a rat. “It could be a possum, as possums tend to be pickier eaters than rats,” he told Yahoo News.
Warning that rats are a native species and may be endangered
Mr Grant also warned that the mice in the lemon trees may not be a common invasive species: “There are lots of native mouse species, some of which are threatened with extinction – the Asian wood mouse is seriously endangered,” he said.
Mr Grant recommended not setting up mousetraps as it is illegal to kill protected native animals and it is difficult to distinguish between breeds, and removing animals from their habitat can cause anxiety, particularly for possums which can develop stress dermatitis.
How to protect trees without harming native wildlife
Mr Grant said as native animals are increasingly being forced from their natural habitats by deforestation and extreme weather, they have had to adapt, often resorting to getting food from the flowers and fruit trees in our gardens.
“Tree netting is a popular way to protect fruit from wildlife, especially in urban areas, but the wrong type of netting can easily entangle native animals, potentially resulting in death,” he told Yahoo News.
The wrong type of tree netting can be deadly to native wildlife, who become trapped and unable to escape.
“Wildlife-friendly netting should have mesh sizes no larger than 5mm. Anything larger poses a threat to wildlife.”
He said the main animals affected by the inadequate netting were native birds, bats, lizards, snakes and the occasional possum, with many of the trapped animals dying from horrific injuries after the nets cut deeply into them while trying to escape.
Parrots 'crush' lemon and passion fruit trees
Other Australians said their lemon trees had died because of parrots.
“The parrots have been eating away at my lemon trees lately!” one wrote. Another said the parrots were “eating away at my passion fruit trees.” Another wrote that they had been “bumper harvesting” until the birds arrived.
Some people disagree, with one person saying: “The parrot went straight up to the seeds in our garden and threw them all over the garden. The treats seem very delicate.”
“Possums like to just eat the skin and leave the rest,” added another.
If you find an injured animal, call WIRES on 1300 094 737 to ask for your local wildlife officer.
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