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The opposum is a marsupial (pouched animal).
There are three species in this marsupial family and only one lives
in North America. In fact, the American opossum is the only marsupial
in North America. In North America, opossums are found in the eastern,
central, and west coast states. |
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opossum is 2 to 3 feet long and weighs from 4 to 12 pounds.
It has a long head with a pointed snout, a pink nose, black
eyes and prominent, naked black ears. Its head is usually
white and its coarse body fur is mostly grayish white but
tends to be darker on its legs. All opossums have long, tapered
tails with a scaly appearance. |
Opossum Face |
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Opossums are omnivorous
(eats just about anything!). Their diet is made up of insects, snails,
rodents, berries, over-ripe fruit, carrion and occasionally snakes,
ground eggs, corn or other vegetables. . |
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Opossums are very adaptable
and will live anywhere there is food, water, and shelter. They can
be found in rocky crevices, hollow tree trunks, under piles of dead
brush, or in burrows. Opossum habitats are forests, brushy areas,
open country near wooded waterways, moist woodlands, thick brush
near streams or swamps, and rivers bordered by trees.
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Solitary and nocturnal
by nature, opossums are gentle and placid. They prefer to avoid
all confrontations and wish to be left alone. .
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Opposums are usually
slow moving. When frightened and unable to flee, they will hiss
or growl and show their 50 sharp teeth. If all else fails, the opossum
will play dead. It has developed an act that would receive an Academy
Award in the animal kingdom. By playing dead, the opossum confuses
many a predator into believing that the game is over. Oftentimes
the confused rival walks away or looks the other direction for a
moment, and the opossum runs to safety. |
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Mom with babies on her back |
The opossum has a gestation
period of only thirteen days. In a year, the female gives
birth to 2 litters of about 8 to 10 young. Blind and naked
at birth, the baby opossums must make their way into mom's
pouch (marsupium) and attach to a nipple. They will stay in
mom's safe pouch for about 60 days before emerging. At this
time, the babies hitch a ride on their mom's back. The young
opossums reach maturity quickly, in about 6 months. |
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| An opossum
is well-adapted for climbing. Its feet are plantigrade (shaped
so the opossum walks of the sole of its foot with the heel
touching the ground) and its toes are skillful, like fingers.
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| Its hind feet
have a toe that resembles a thumb and makes them look somewhat
like human hands. Its naked, scaly tail is able to wrap around
and grasp limbs and can support the animal's full weight for
short penods. |
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An opossum is short-lived
and has high mortality rates at all stages. Mortality of young still
in the pouch ranges from 10 to 25 percent. Of those that survive
through weaning, fewer than 10 percent live longer than one year.
The oldest known wild opossums were 2 l/2 to 3 years old. . |
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Fossils of the relatives
of the opossum have been dated as far back as 70-80 million years
ago. This makes the opossum the Earth's oldest surviving Mammal! |
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Opossuns have a
natural immunity to the venom of rattlesnakes, cottonmouths, and
copperheads! |
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