Being a lover of nature and wildlife, I normally don't make a point of convincing people that any member of the Kingdom is grotesque. But quite frankly, the image of a filthy opossum lumbering along with that giant coffee stained tooth mouth grabbing a chicken through its wire enclosure it isn't too pleasant. It must not be a quick sort of death.
The Virginia opossum (Didelphus virginiana) is actually our only marsupial here in the wilds of Florida (and the only marsupial in North America). (Australia's leaving us in the dust on that count.)
I love the description on the University of Florida IFAS website:
"Opossums have a scaly, rat-like, prehensile tail they use with their opposable thumbs to grasp small branches and other objects. Opossums also have more teeth (50) than any other North American mammal."
Mmmm....delicious. And let me tell you about those teeth. When I was in college, I volunteered at a wildlife rescue center. So many of our patients were litters of opossums that were left on their own when a mother was killed by a passing car. People would find the little guys wandering about and bring them in. At first they were cute, all huddled together in their cage, staring at me as I replenished the food and water dishes. But as they grew, they became less patient with my caring antics and started flashing a mouth full of yellow teeth at me, hissing. Gross.
On several occasions, the infamous yellow lab I grew up with, Jerome, bravely assaulted and killed a ballsy opossum who had dared to enter the driveway. That is, we thought he killed it. Father even shoveled it off the driveway, but we returned shortly afterward to find that it had revived from its "play dead" charade to plunder a different lawn.
Flanders has done the same here, and it was a shock to her confidence when she realized she was taken for a fool.
They may be gross, but opossums are clearly formidable. You could easily convince me that the Rodents of Unusual Size in the Princess Bride were inspired by this cutie pie of the animal world. Ah yes, just imagine an opossum that large. I'd hate to think of it. Not everyone has a Westly roaming around every corner to save her--especially those poor Bradentucky chickens.
7 comments:
Opposums are frightening things indeed. Our Antipodean species is the possum - and it stays cute. It is also a common pest, although more of a problem in New Zealand.
Agreed possums are kinda ugly with their pink skin and ratty tails. And while I left them behind when I moved to Minnesota 35 years ago, those persistent devils have followed me. Yes, we're getting possums in Minnesota now, probably because global warming is allowing them to migrate further north than ever before. When I work at one of our local expos all I have to do is mention 'possum and every single person will have some 'possum encounter story, usually very disparaging to the 'possum.
The only positive thing I know about 'possums is that Wausau in the western Florida panhandle has a monument and an annual festival to celebrate the fact that 'possums kept the people from starving during the depression.
And they mean it. Check it out.
http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/possummonument
That is one crazy scary looking picture...I've never seen one that looks like that! Of course, most of the ones I see are road kill! I've seen a few run across the road, but I haven't seen those wicked teeth!
I didn't realize how horrendous looking they are! SICK!!!!
Rodents Of Unusual Size? I don't think they exist.
Actually, I saw one the other night on my walk. And once I found a juvenile opossum in a garbage can outside a hotel. He had fallen in at night, and was very confused in the morning. I leaned the can over on its side and left it that way so he could walk out on his own. I wasn't about to touch him.
the word possum is code for my ex mother in law
They're just trying to make a living like everybody else. You neighbor needs to build a bigger chicken coop.
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