Things I did not 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. . . . They have an unusually high need for calcium, which incites them to eat the skeletons of rodents and road kill they consume. They're the sanitation workers of the wild.
. . .
7. Impressive tails. . . . 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.
And a bonus for the Scrabble players: Male opossums are called jacks and females are called jills. The young are referred to as joeys, just like their Australian cousins, and a group of opossums is called a passel.
4 comments:
That's really cool, but they still can't make it across the road.
heh
I wonder if possum blood has been considered, then, for antivenin possibilities given it's natural antibodies.
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I didn't realize that about them. Mostly what I know about them is how fiercely they hiss when cornered, yet they're almost totally harmless.
Possums are very adaptable. I have seen them in NE countryside and TX cityscapes.
One amusing scene was the hissy fit when a cat found out a possum was eating its food.
Gee, that picture makes them almost look cute...almost.
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