Opposums

What do you think about opossums? I always thought of them being dirty and nasty and pretty disgusting creatures! We find them in our garbage cans and lurking around in our yards at night. But, after doing a little research about this mysterious night creature, I found out that they are really misunderstood and interesting. Yes, I said it, interesting!

The opossum is the only marsupial found north of Mexico and they carry and nurse their babies in their pouch for the first few months of their life. After that, they like to ride on their momma’s back till she has had enough! The funniest characteristic of the opossum is its ability to play dead in front of its predators. When they experience intense fear, it will seize up and flop to the ground where it will remain for hours staring blankly and sticking its tongue out. Hence the phrase, “playing possum”. It is totally an uncontrollable involuntary reaction triggered by stress!

Opossums gobble up 90% of ticks that attach to them and according to the National Wildlife Federation a single opossum consumes 5,000 ticks in a season. They also eat snakes and are immune from all snake’s venom except the coral snake. Opossums aren’t dirty either – they clean themselves with their tongue and paws thoroughly and frequently. They use their tails as an extra arm to help them build their nest or climb trees as I have seen on many of the Land Trust’s properties. Opossums build their nests along tree lines close to rivers and streams.

So the next time you see an Opossum in your yard or garbage can, remember he is a really cool marsupial that does amazing things for us!