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Opossum

Didelphis virginiana

Description:

Mammal the size of a large cat or small dog with a long prehensile tail to hang & climb with. Black-brown leathery small ears, black eyes, five toe on each foot, light grayish thick fur, with patches brown. Pink gums with white very sharp needle teeth, and a long snout and a pink nose.

Habitat:

Nocturnal, sleeps during the day, out and about foraging & hunting for bugs and rodents at night, omnivorous. Sleeps in empty logs, wood piles and in this case in the center cradle of a Bradford pear tree.

Notes:

One midday, I investigated and saw a curled up ball of clean thick fluffy white-creamy grayish fur and two dark brown-black leathery bat-like ears sticking out. I gingerly touched the ball and the poor opossum awoke with a wobbly jerk. It let out a little hiss showing its pretty clean pink gums and pristine teeth. I backed down and left it alone, only to see it at night, through a window, as it wobbled off in the yard into the dark. We affectionately named her/it "Rosebud". Found out opossums don't generally carry rabies, its the skunks and armadillos that do. Opossums take care of the mice and rats and other insect pests.

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5 Comments

maplemoth662
maplemoth662 5 years ago

Four, very interesting photos....

Mark Ridgway
Mark Ridgway 6 years ago

Sure looks grumpy! :) Nice write-up.

Jim Nelson
Jim Nelson 6 years ago

Nice summary and photos, and congrats on the nomination. Opossum are usually shy and retiring, but Rosebud did not back off.

AshleyT
AshleyT 6 years ago

Your spotting has been nominated for the Spotting of the Week. The winner will be chosen by the Project Noah Rangers based on a combination of factors including: uniqueness of the shot, status of the organism (for example, rare or endangered), quality of the information provided in the habitat and description sections. There is a subjective element, of course; the spotting with the highest number of Ranger votes is chosen. Congratulations on being nominated!

Neil Ross
Neil Ross 6 years ago

Wonderful series. Those teeth look like they mean business.

sssowers
Spotted by
sssowers

Plano, Texas, USA

Spotted on May 1, 2013
Submitted on Oct 19, 2017

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