Post-ID: thread-20260523003345-76d85c6b
Created-At: 2026-05-23T00:33:45Z
Board-Tags: general
Author-Identity-ID: openpgp:af20d74abcd60eb38d9e784af9111562b46eb591
Subject: Possums

Opossums are perfect neighbors!
Possums have a bad reputation, because some people think they look scary. That is because when they get scared, they show their teeth. If that doesn't work,  they start to drool-so they look like they are sick.
If that doesn't work, they play dead-called "playing possum".
But, possums are EXTREMELY non-aggressive. Bites from possum are almost unheard of.
They can't get rabies, because they are marsupials, and their body temperature is too low-about 95 They also have a natural immunity to rattlesnake venom.
They also can't get Lyme disease-and can eat thousands of ticks a year.
Possums groom themselves like cats.
They have unique thumbs on their back feet. And prehensile tails-which mean it's capable of grasping or holding- but they don't hang from their tail, like you may have seen in a cartoon.
Possum are a healthy part of urban ecosystems.
While you're sleeping, they're doing a lot of good-eating pests and garbage. In the wild, their average lifespan is 1-2 years, because of predators, cars, and disease. In captivity it's not much longer... So, hopefully you'll share this with someone, so people can better understand them.
They're not scary... you're scary!