Opossums and red deer in combination

During the controversy over the opossum and its effect on the native forests apiarists took a small part, complaining as early as 1942 that opossums were damaging the nectar-bearing plants of rata and kamahi. Suspecting that the damage was not due to opossums alone, L. T. Pracy, for the Forest Service, built enclosures to keep out deer and goats but not opossums, in some badly damaged forest areas. He found that palatable plants regenerated freely, suggesting that it was deer, not opossums, that are the cause of irremediable damage. It appears that it is a combination of deer and opossum, not the animals singly, that cause so much damage. The removal of undergrowth by deer opens up the way for opossums, while the damage of canopy trees by opossums exposes glades for the deer.