Opossums

Their family history dates back about 90 million years, and with poor eyesight and hearing and being slow afoot, it is impressive that they have made it this far. As we know them today, Opossums have been around for nearly a million years.

They are an enigma in evolution as a docile animals with 50 razor-sharp teeth, the most of any mammal in North America. The Algonquin Indians named them apasum, meaning “white animal,” and they were first referred to as opossum by Captain John Smith in early 1600 Virginia. He also said they tasted like pig.

They aren’t the greatest pets. Aside from being difficult to train, they are susceptible to bacterial infections and develop cataracts when in captivity. In the wild, they are considered furbearers and protected by the law. They can only be killed or hunted with a license during open season. It is best to contact Advanced Wildlife Control for nuisance opossum rather than risk being fined.

They are the only marsupial in the United States, and while many refer to them as “possum”, that is an entirely different animal. They also have their names; females are jills, and males are jacks. Their babies are called joeys, and when you have a group of them together, and it’s called a passel. Incredibly, they can give birth to 20 babies, which remain in the mother’s pouch between 2-and 3 months. It is even more interesting that they only have 13 mammary glands, ensuring the strongest survive.

The common knowledge about the creature is that, yes, they do pretend to be dead, but they don’t choose when to do it. Fully grown, they would rather run than fight and use a scary hissing sound and bared teeth to try and ward off threats. If all else fails, well, they play possum. A shock to their nervous system results in them falling over, eyes closed, tongue hanging out, and drooling. They release an odor from their anal glands that give off the appearance of a rotting carcass. They can remain in this state for a few hours, have no reflexes, and feel no pain.