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Didelphis virginiana
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.
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.
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.
5 Comments
Four, very interesting photos....
Sure looks grumpy! :) Nice write-up.
Nice summary and photos, and congrats on the nomination. Opossum are usually shy and retiring, but Rosebud did not back off.
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!
Wonderful series. Those teeth look like they mean business.