So it looks like we are at the starting line of another exciting week. I trust all of you were able to enjoy the sunshine and beautiful springtime weather (assuming it is spring where you are). I thought we would start the week off with North America’s only marsupial. Of course I am talking about the Opossum. I know! I thought we had already learned about this clever little animal too, however, I can’t seem to find any Wild Fact on them so we will explore this marsupials life today. Now while in North America we are all familiar with the Virginia Opossum, it is important to realize that there are about 60 different opossum species. We will look at the animal as a whole instead of going into all 60 different species.
The Opossum is often referred to as a “Possum” but this is technically incorrect, since the Possum is a different animal living in Australia. As mentioned the Opossum is a marsupial which just means they have a handy, dandy pouch. As a result the female will give birth to helpless babies about the size of a honeybee. Naturally, these little “honeybees” will spend the rest of their development period in the infamous pouch. An Opossum may give birth to up 20 babies, however, only about half of these will actually make it, with some never even getting into the pouch. I guess life is tough for a “honeybee” Opossum.
Now we all know what has made the Opossum famous, right? Well we should since they are responsible for the common phrase, “playing possum”. Of course when one of these marsupials are threatened by a hungry predator, they will play dead. Normally, they will remain still and either have their eyes closed or will be staring blankly into space. To make sure they look dead they will often let their tongue hang out. In fact they are so good at playing dead that you would think they take acting lessons while hanging out in the pouch.
Opossum Fast Fact – When they aren’t in a pouch or playing dead the Opossum loves to climb trees. Their incredibly sharp claws and their long prehensile tail allows them to be quite effective climbers. This is probably a good thing since they spend the majority of their time in the tree tops.
So it looks like we are at the end of another Wild Fact. I hope you enjoyed it and I will see all of you tomorrow.
