Have You Hugged Your Opossum Today?
>> Thursday, March 31, 2011 –
Potter Park Zoo,
wildlife
Even scavengers that hiss at your dog and root through your trash deserve to be loved. Just watch out for those 52 pointy teeth (that's more than any other land mammal!).
Fun facts about the opossum:
- They are only marsupial found in North America.
- They have prehensile tails but they cannot hang upside down from them once they reach adult size.
- They typically only live 2 or 3 years.
- Gestation is only 12-14 days. When the babies (usually around 15-20 at a time!) are born they can all fit in a tablespoon and must crawl into the mother's pouch and attach themselves to a teat. Only about 12 will manage it.
- They have at least a partial resistance to many kinds of snake venom, including that of cottonmouths and rattlesnakes.
- Playing Possum, in which the animal plays dead, drools, and emits the odor of rotting flesh, is an involuntary behavior. They regain consciousness within a few minutes to an hour.
Quite interesting. You are a brave soul (in my book) to hold one. They give me the heebie-jeebies!
I just saw a skunk run around the back of my house...not looking forward to meeting him in the dark of night!
How do they smell?
When they're not pooping or playing possum, they don't smell bad at all. I've never noticed them smelling like anything in particular.