By Staff
We share our property here on the creek with a multitude of critters. Deer, turkeys, rabbits, squirrels and raccoons are all regular visitors. A special treat for me is when a wandering opossum hangs out here for a while. Most of us have a special fondness for a particular wild animal. For some it's squirrels, for others it's rabbits or raccoons. Mine is the unappreciated opossum. I have no idea why. Opossums are, shall we say, unfortunate in the looks department. The pointy face with its tiny, hairless ears can no way be called cute. In fact, in cartoon fashion it almost portrays evil and mean, which they are not. The bare tail and feet make us associate it with a rat. From a distance the fur looks sparse and dirty, though up close it is fine and luxurious. Their slow, waddling gate is in no way graceful. Opossums just don't have any endearing qualities. Maybe that's why I like them, siding with the underdog, the downtrodden.
When you get past appearance, though, they are one of our most unique animals. Surprisingly, they are also one of the most successful creatures on the planet. Most other species have come and gone over the eons. Evolution is constantly changing them, making alterations and erasing the mistakes. The opossum has not needed any such tweaking. They have been around for 70 million years. They literally walked with the dinosaurs and are still plodding along today. They are found everywhere throughout the U.S. except the Rocky Mountain States as well as down into Mexico and Central America.
Opossums are North America's only marsupial, meaning they have a pouch to shelter their young. The babies are born as little more than embryos about the size of a navy bean. These premies must somehow make their way into the pouch entirely on their own. Once there, they attach themselves to a teat and simply hang out. This process is most perilous. Some don't find the pouch and perish. Others may make the miraculous journey only to find all 13 of ma's teats are already spoken for. Litters can run anywhere from less than a dozen up to 25. It's first come first serve and if the brood is large the late arrivals are doomed. After two months of development they leave the pouch and ride around on mom's back for another four to six weeks. Then they're on their own.
Opossums, which, by the way, get their name from the Algonquin name "Apasum" meaning white animal, eat virtually anything that can be digested. Snails, worms, snakes, eggs, small mammals, a variety of plants, fruits and berries and even carrion are on the menu. It's their fondness of carrion that makes them one of the most common road pizzas. They are drawn to the roadways to clean up the other casualties and are not fleet of foot enough to dodge the Dodges.
They scrounge for food both on the ground and in the treetops. For the latter the hairless tail is prehensile like a monkey's, meaning it can grasp branches. However, they cannot hang from their tails as depicted in folk lore and cartoons. Also a boon for climbing is an opposing thumb-like appendage called a halux on their hind feet. This allows them to grasp branches. They don't hang around in one place long. They are perpetual wanderers constantly searching for food.
When threatened they try to act tough, hissing and baring their teeth, but they rarely put up much of a fight. If that fails they may burp, vomit and defecate. Finally comes the strange occurrence they're so well known for, "playing possum." This is not a voluntary ruse. They uncontrollably fall into a coma-like state which may last up to four hours.
Another key to the species’ success is they have a high level of immunity to diseases. In fact, they are more rabies resistant than any other animal. And they are more intelligent than their clumsy, dimwitted appearance portrays. Learning tests show them to be smarter than dogs and about on a level with pigs. Who'’d have thought all that with the lowly Opossum? Carpe diem.