A couple evenings ago I just happened to be looking out my kitchen window and saw a good sized opossum (possum) coming out from under the porch to feed under my bird feeder.
I'm glad I remembered to take some video!!
It didn't seem to see me watching her and went on slowly eating. Even after I showed it to Dexter who whined a little, she seemed perfectly content. I've learned that their eyesight isn't the best.
In fact here's a few interesting things about possums.
They are the only marsupial in the U.S. and Canada!!
They don't carry rabies!
They have supper immunity systems and are immune from most diseases!
They are not rodents.
They are not dirty. They constantly groom themselves like cats do.
(However an infected possum can be a definitive host for the protozoa that causes cases of EPM in horses. So possums near horse barns are a problem)
They are good tree climbers.
They can grasp things with their tail but do not hang upside down.
The babies are born a short 12 days after breeding and crawl up into the mother's pouch where they connect to a teat. They stay there until they are big enough to get around on the ground which is 70-80 days. They stay in the dens with mom till they're about 3 1/2 months old.
The possum have numerous dens and move about every 3-4 days.
So this little guy probably isn't under my porch any longer.
I guess that's why Dexter isn't digging a tunnel to get under there!
They are omnivores. They have been on earth since dinosaur times and that is probably due to the fact that they can eat anything! They are scavengers.
Here are some good sites to learn more if you want:
Shirley
We have then here too, not very common in the city but we have had a ring tailed visit for a day or two.
ReplyDeleteMerle.................