They’re as big as a housecat, but don’t quite look the part. Opossums look a whole lot more like rats, even though they’re on the other side of the mammal family tree as Marsupials.
Seeing one in your backyard freaks out a lot of people who aren’t used to the sight of these funny, misunderstood marsupials.
But beneath that rat-like exterior, hissing and playing-dead that they’re so known for, Opossums are actually great to have around.
The one gimmick that everyone knows them for is “playing possum”, an involuntary physiological response they’ve evolved to get predators to leave them alone.
And the award goes to…the opossum! Few compare to this marsupial when it comes to “playing dead.” When under threat, it'll fall on its side, curl its body, & may supplement the act with open-mouth drooling & an excretion of feces in hopes of deterring hungry predators. #Oscars pic.twitter.com/Q7IvI0ADnq
— American Museum of Natural History (@AMNH) February 25, 2019
If you’re a hungry predator, like a wolf or a hawk, and have one of these hissy, scavenging marsupials cornered, then they play dead.
And boy, are they good at it.
Opossums play dead involuntarily. That’s right, an Opossum can’t play dead voluntarily. Much the same way you and I can’t faint or vomit whenever we want.
Here is an opossum 'playing dead', apparently, because they are really melodramatic. pic.twitter.com/JatMdW8ykq
— Wikimedia UK (@wikimediauk) February 19, 2018
There has to be really specific circumstances for those to happen, and it’s the same with how Opossums play dead. When those circumstances hit though, the Opossum will drop to the ground, its lips pull back, the body stiffens, toes curl up, and it gives off a very “dead” smell with some glands in its butt.
Linda has all the fall feels today. 🍂
Experience the new fall decor for yourself when you visit during #HoloceneHalloween – happening now through November 1! (Opossum not included with decor). #goCMNH #31daysofHalloween
Full schedule of events:https://t.co/HjzU16m3Cb pic.twitter.com/veSjyUHhRi
— CleMuseumNatHistory (@goCMNH) October 22, 2020
No need to be afraid of one. It’s probably way more scared of you, or else they wouldn’t have “playing dead” as a survival strategy. Opossums mean no harm, and are probably a lot less dangerous than stray dogs.
Though Opossums aren’t nearly as nasty as they seem when they’re pretending to be corpses.
Scavengers by heart, Opossums will happily clean up crickets, roaches, rats, and even snakes. So if you don’t want those critters near your kids or pets, but don’t wanna do the dirty work yourself or hurt them, just leave it to the Opossums!
They don’t just pick off small critters either. Overripe and unwanted fruits are also a treat to them, so if needing to throw those fruits away feels like wasting food, don’t worry! Some small furry critter outdoors still wants to eat them.
— Possum Every Hour (@PossumEveryHour) November 26, 2020
Really giving new meaning to “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”.
Though the Opossum’s greatly underappreciated services don’t end there. Opossums also get rid of ticks, and they do the best job at it. Better than any pest-control or tick shampoo, in fact!
All those nasty ticks that bite, suck and spread nasty diseases like Lyme disease meet their end when they encounter an Opossum.
— Possum Every Hour (@PossumEveryHour) November 26, 2020
These amazing marsupial scavengers will pick off ticks like a person eating a bag of chips.
Opossums will kill up to 95% of ticks they come across, and unknowingly keep other animals safe from any nasty bacteria or infections ticks might give them.
— Possum Every Hour (@PossumEveryHour) November 25, 2020
Let Rick Ostfeld, a senior scientist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem studies, do more of the explaining :
“Because many ticks try to feed on opossums and few of them survive the experience. Opossums are extraordinarily good groomers it turns out – we never would have thought that ahead of time – but they kill the vast majority – more than 95% percent of the ticks that try to feed on them. So these opossums are walking around the forest floor, hoovering up ticks right and left, killing over 90% of these things, and so they are really protecting our health.”
Are you suffering from Lyme disease? No? Me neither. Thank an Opossum for that.
— Possum Every Hour (@PossumEveryHour) November 25, 2020
“Unsung heroes” indeed. But I’m sure they’d prefer some old fruit as thanks, rather than a song.
So, we’ve just learned that Opossums definitely do not want to hurt you, and they clean-up pretty much everything you don’t want.
I bet your whole perspective of them has changed a lot in just a short few minutes. Isn’t it cool to learn new things?
So how about giving this article a share? Some of your friends might actually be 3 opossums in a trench coat, and they might appreciate it.
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