![]() ![]() The opossum is our continent’s only marsupial, the sole remaining ancestor of opossum-like creatures that roamed North American dinosaur back yards 100 million years ago. Then there are the animal’s humanlike opposable “thumbs,” actually its hind-feet big toes, which it also uses for climbing.īut most remarkable of all is the animal’s reproductive system. ![]() There is, for example, the opossum’s prehensile tail, which it uses to grip branches while climbing (opossums rarely, and then only briefly, hang from their tails). Even so, its anatomy remains as astonishing as ever. Our scientific knowledge of the Virginia opossum has come a long way in 500-plus years. When Pinzon took a live female and young back to King Ferdinand of Spain, the animals created a sensation, and the opossum became a symbol of the wonders and weirdness wandering the mysterious New World. Declaring it a “Monster,” Pinzon wrote that its front was like a fox, “the hinder a Monkey, the feet were like a Mans, with Ears like an Owl.” He encountered the strange creature (a close cousin of our opossum) in Brazil. Under her belly she hath a bagge, wherein she lodgeth, carrieth and sucketh her young.”Īn even odder menagerie of animal body parts went into the earliest European description of an opossum, penned in 1492 by Vicente Yanez Pinzon, captain of Christopher Columbus’ ship, the Nina. Struggling to explain the strange New World animal to folks back home in opossum-less Europe, Captain John Smith, founder of the Jamestown colony, wrote: “The opossum hath an head like a Swine and a tail like a rat, and is the bigness of a Cat. Other early observers saw more than a mere rat in the opossum’s odd anatomy. ![]() Literally translated, the Santee Sioux word for opossum means “big rat.” In the early 1700s, when English surveyor and explorer John Lawson traveled through what is now the Carolinas, he described the animal similarly: “They are a very stupid Creature, utterly neglecting their Safety. ![]() This is not only the opossum’s current reputation, but its historic one, too. With its odd looks, clueless demeanor and taste for trash-can fare, the opossum is widely considered to be only a half-rung above a rat on the wildlife ladder. Learn About Opossum Facts, Behavior and Habitat Look more closely, and you’ll find an animal with a remarkable story. There’s more to the opossum, though, than meets the passing eye. The opossum is easily one of the most common of all North American creatures, both living and squashed-on-the-road. That you were at the wheel of a car at that precise instant also is a distinct possibility. If you live in the eastern half of the United States, along the West Coast, or in southwestern Canada, you and D. I’m talking opossum here - Virginia opossum, to be precise, and Didelphis virginiana, to be specific. No, I’m not talking about you when you get up in the morning. It is an odd sight, this shuffling, waddling creature with the faintly foul odor, a thin trickle of drool at one corner of its mouth, its hair sticking out every which way, its eyes blinking, its tail comically naked. Learn everything you need to know about opossum facts, behavior and habitat. Home Organization News, Blog, & Articles.Energy Efficiency News, Blog, & Articles.If nothing’s happening, you may need to try something different. Want to know if your control method is working? Make sure you monitor your results. Read the NZ Police’s safety and legal requirements for firearms and learn more about how to control them on farms. Warm nights are best, especially after rain. Shoot at night - suitable in rural areas only and effective if done regularly.Traps or bait stations can be moved to target seasonal food supplies such as pine pollen in July – August (their poo turns yellow!) willow-poplar budding in October-December supplejack, taraire, hinau, tawa fruiting in May – August late summer podocarp fruit such as totara various orchard trees when in fruit throughout the year. Use toxins in a bait station - regular baiting will keep numbers at low levels.Did you know that they respond well to visual lures (blue and white in particular) and are attracted to fresh fruit, peanut butter, and a sprinkling of sugar over the lure? Make sure you always wear gloves when handling your trap or catches. Visit our trapping and baiting toolkit to choose the right trap and baits. Trap - regular trapping is a good way to manage them.If you’ve identified possums on your property (see how to identify predators), you can: ![]()
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