The common brushtail possum is native to Australia, but is an invasive species in New Zealand, where they threaten both agriculture and native bird species. Trapping or poisoning possums is a problem because some are too smart or too shy to approach traps. Wildlife biologist Graham Hickling needed an irresistible bait to lure possums to the traps. He discovered the Selena Gomez limited edition Oreo cookies, which have a layer of cinnamon between the chocolate wafers. Hickling found that Oreos are easy to use, because you can drill a hole in the middle and affix them with a nail, much better than Tim Tams.
"Oreos are quite a bit cheaper, and they actually stand up to the rain quite well too, which is a little disconcerting.”
Possums found the combination of cinnamon and chocolate irresistible. Traps without the Oreos caught one possum in nine days, while the "Selena Gomez regime" traps caught 15 possums in 20 days. Read how this success came about at the Spinoff. -via Nag on the Lake
