| March 21, 2006
Hello Friends.
I'm dedicating this Creature Feature to a neighbor of mine who recently passed away. I have no idea what her name is but I consider her an important part of my community as I do everyone who lives here.
This week's featured creature is:
the Virginia Opossum
(Didelphis virginia)
I can just hear them now. Coming from all around the world this morning, my friends and family reading this email. "Yuck!" "Ewwww!" "Possums are gross."
That's why I'm here. To help change your mind about our incredible neighbor, the opossum.
Okay, sure. They look like huge rats. The pointy snout, the naked pink tail, the beady eyes. And yes, they can be a little scary. I remember attempting to clean the cages of adult opossums staying at the wildlife shelter and being absolutely terrified of that hissing ball of muscle and that mouthful of needle-sharp teeth. And you probably didn't know that they have some of the worst-smelling poop of any animal on earth.
But we all have our faults, every last one of us. The truth is, as far as North American wildlife is concerned, the Opossum is one of a kind. And I am frequently amazed that we have such a unique and bizarre anomaly walking amongst us every night in our own backyards.
AMAZING OPOSSUM FACTS
1) This is the big one. What makes the opossum unlike any other mammal in the U.S. or Canada? It is a marsupial. That means it raises its young in a pouch much like a kangaroo. How cool is that? Australia is the main stronghold for marsupials on planet earth, but a group of marsupials also spread through parts of Central and South America (possums) and the Virginia Opossum is the only marsupial you will find in our whole country.
2) Because of the male opossum's forked penis there is a myth that mating occurs through the female's nose! (Funny, but untrue. The nose part is untrue, the forked penis is true.)
 3) The opossum has 50 teeth! The highest number found in any mammal!
4) They have the shortest gestation period of any mammal, only 12 1/2 days! That means only 12.5 days after conception, the tiny undeveloped embryos must crawl all the way from their mother's uterus to her pouch and find a nipple or they will perish! This is amazing! Only one body area is particularly developed at this point: the front legs and claws that it uses to pull itself along. How does it know which direction to go? Incredible. The young are so tiny you could fit an entire litter of 20 into a teaspoon. A female can give birth to as many as 25 but only the first ones to arrive at one of the 13-or-so nipples will survive.
5) Prehensile tail! They are the only mammal in the U.S. and Canada with a truly prehensile tail, meaning they can use it to hold objects, climb with it, and young ones can even hang from it. (Adults are usually too heavy to hang for long.) What a handy device that would be.(A few salamanders, lizards and snakes have semi-prehensile tails).
 6) Opposable "thumb"! (technically called a 'hallux' when on the hind foot) Only one other group of mammals outside of marsupials has ever developed an opposable digit: yours and mine, the primates. Hey, I guess we're not so cool after all.
7) Living fossil! The Virginia Opossum is considered to be a living fossil, one of the longest existing species of mammal on our continent, having been around since the time of the dinosaurs, 70 million years ago! It's safe to say that the opossum was here long before us so when you're upset about that opossum on your porch eating your catfood and invading "your" territory, try to keep that in mind.
8) Playing possum. Yes, opossums actually do go into a catatonic state and feign death as a last resort when they feel threatened. Though I've read that this is not a conscious decision or act but an uncontrollable physical reaction.
9) Opossums do not get rabies! For some reason opossums have an extremely high resistance to the rabies virus, perhaps because of their lower body temperature. They are less likely to contract rabies than any other mammal in our country, wild or domestic!
Quiz: OK smarty pants. Test your knowledge.
Unfortunately the most common place we tend to see opossums is dead on the road. What is the reason that makes opossums so likely to end up as road kill?
A) they like to eat road kill.
B) they like to eat food that people throw out of their cars
C) they hitch hike frequently
D) they have genetically implanted suicidal tendencies.
Answer: You are what you eat. The ironic answer is A. They become roadkill because they like to eat roadkill. Although answer B (food thrown out of cars) is certainly a draw to all sorts of animals (and a dang good reason why you shouldn't throw food scraps out of the car, even if it is biodegradable.) The sad truth is, one of their great survival mechanisms (a generalist diet and the ability to consume almost anything, including dead critters on the road) makes them likely to wind up as one of those dead critters.
So please, keep your eyes out for our fascinating neighbor. And maybe even have a little respect and admiration for this incredible (if not beautiful) creature, the Virginia Opossum.
Thanks so much for reading and have a great week ladies and gents.
-Hal
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