The Opossum appreciation thread

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I love Possums, they are a marsupial. The average lifespan of a Possum in the wild is about three (3) years. The following is a list of their attributes:

1. Non-aggressive (they will bite defensively, or bite another Possum to secure a food source)
2. They eat large amounts of ticks (decreasing our chances of tick borne infections)
3. They are shy
4. They are cute
5. They have a natural immunity to toxins and do NOT carry rabies.
6. They are mostly loners, but are good Mothers (female) and very capable of giving and receiving affection in non-release, rehab situations.

If you see a Possum that has been hit by a car, stop and check. It is not always common, but some Possums miss the flyer that breeding should take place in the Spring. A female Possum can have babies in her pouch any time of the year. Often, some or all of the babies will survive a 'hit by a car' accident. And if you can get them to a rehab in your area, that's another generation in this very important species. Same with dog attacks... a Possum will play dead. Check the possum, check for babies and call for help. Wear gloves if you have them available, because although not aggressive, they will lash out if they are scared.

Thus far, I have rehabbed baby squirrels, a micro bat, the runts of hamster litters. I love every little thing except a spider. And I will not mess with a spider unless it jumps on me, then it's dead.

Maybe Alex could replace the space alien logo with one of a 'possum...

One time me and my cousin came across a possum in the yard and cornered it to see if it would play dead. It just looked up at us all scared and started whimpering so we felt really guilty and left it alone.

I get them in my yard sometimes. They are so cute!

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Opossums are very similar to another animal which "shall not be named"

They are the only marsupials, I believe, which live west of the Wallace Line (i.e., west of the Australian ecological area).

Most marsupials only live east of the Wallace Line (primarily in Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, and smaller islands therein).

11 things you probably didn't know about opossums

1. Natural Immunity: Opossums are mostly immune to rabies, and in fact, they are eight times less likely to carry rabies compared to wild dogs.

2. Poison Control: Opossums have superpowers against snakes.  They have partial or total immunity to the venom produced by rattlesnakes, cottonmouths and other pit vipers.

3. Omnivores Galore: Their normal diet consists of carrion, rodents, insects, snails, slugs, birds, eggs, frogs, plants, fruits and grains.  They also eat human food, table scraps, dog food and cat food.  They have an unusually high need for calcium, which incites them to eat the skeletons of rodents and roadkill they consume.  They're the sanitation workers of the wild.

4. Smart Critters: Although many people think opossums are not the sharpest knives in the drawer, there are several areas of intelligence in which they soar.  For one, they have a remarkable ability to find food and to remember where it is.  When tested for the ability to remember where food is, opossums scored better than rats, rabbits, cats, dogs … but not as well as humans.  They also can find their way through a maze more quickly than rats and cats.

5. Pest Control: Since their diet allows them to indulge on snails, slugs and beetles, they are a welcome addition to the garden.  Opossums also keep rats and cockroaches at bay by competing with them for food.  In fact, it's common for opossums to kill cockroaches and rats if they find them in their territory.

6. All Thumbs: The opossum has opposable "thumbs".  The opossum's "thumbs" (called halux) are on its rear feet (so, technically they're toes), and abet the opossum's formidable climbing skills.  Primates and opossums are the only mammals with opposable first toes.

7. Impressive Tails: They have prehensile tails which are adapted for grasping and wrapping around things like tree limbs.  The opossum can hang from its tail for short periods of time, but the creature doesn't sleep hanging from its tail, as some people think.  Opossums have been observed carrying bundles of grasses and other materials by looping their tail around them; this conscious control leads many to consider the tail as a fifth appendage, like a hand.

8. Good Pupils: The eyes of the opossum appear black, but what we are seeing are strongly dilated pupil; there is iris around them, it's just mostly out of sight.  The giant pupils are thought to be an adaptation to their nocturnal habits.

9. Big Smile: The mouth of an opossum holds an impressive 50 teeth.

10. Natural Defenses: When threatened, opossums run, growl, belch, urinate and defecate.  And when all else fails, they "play 'possum" and act as if they are dead.  It is an involuntary response (like fainting) rather than a conscious act.  They roll over, become stiff, close their eyes (or stare off into space) and bare their teeth as saliva foams around the mouth and a foul-smelling fluid is secreted from glands.  The catatonic state can last for up to four hours, and has proven effective as a deterrent to predators looking for a hot meal.

11. They Love Water: Most opossums gravitate toward living in areas with reliable water access, despite having the ability to go months without drinking some due to their diet.  In addition, they are actually quite proficient swimmers.  They enjoy it so much, that they can even get worn out and stranded, like the little guy in the video below.

Field trip!

amazing critters. More closely related to Australian kangaroos than to any other animal living here in North America.

We encounter them now and again here in the Maryland Virginia area.

There was a cute little sitcom on Public TV called "The Red Green Show" starring a Canadian character named Red Green, who belonged to something called "the Possum lodge". Makes no sense for a Canadian Fraternal order to be named after a Southern animal like a possum. The show's one flaw!

But oppossums are opportunists, and like coyotes, have been spreading their range beyond its traditional regions taking advantage how humans have disrupted the continent (coyotes east from the west, and possums north out of the south, like reverse carpet baggers). So they may cross the Canadian border yet. But though they thrive on the edges of human civilization they are not pests in any way I know of.

Back when the dinos ruled and mammals were all just small nocturnal and well...possumlike, there were only two continents. The northern supercontinent that consisted of what is now North America, Eurasia, and Africa. And the southern supercontinent (south America, Australia, and Antarctica). The placental mammals came to dominate the northern continent, and marsupials the southern supercontinent. But on both continents all mammals were tiny supporting actors living in the shadows of the giant dinosaur stars.

Then both continents broke up into their modern constituent parts.

Then came the asteroid that wiped out the dinos.

The mammals in both hemispheres rose up to seize the large animal niches vacated by the dinosaurs. All three southern continents, SA, Antarctica, Australia, evolved thriving marsupial faunas with big marsupial animals (south America even had marsupial equivalents of saber tooth tigers).

Then Antarctica drifted onto the south pole, and turned into a sterile ice box. Everything living on it went extinct.

Australia remained in the habitable zone of the planet, and still has its amazing and bizarre marsupial fauna. including critters the locals call "possums" (even though their possums are NOT closely related to American possums).

A land bridge formed that connected South America to north America, and animals from both Americas mixed. Most of the South American marsupials were driven to extinction by competition with the placentals. But one hardy South American marsupial turned the tables and not only survived but invaded North America. And its still pressing north now!

So lets salute a true survivor! The South American invader called the "Virginia Opossum"!

I'm so happy to know you who have commented love possums. They get caught and tortured on a regular basis. I love them and leave food out during the Winter because it's rough out there.

A side note on the Possum Lodge oath...

I guess "Quando omni flunkus moritati" (false Latin for, "When all else fails, play dead") is easier to memorize and recite on stage than "Et cum alio deficiente, quasi mortuus es" (real Latin for, "When all else fails, pretend you are dead").