Something to Chew On | WeConservePA – FortiGate

by John Schwartzer

National Tooth Fairy Day was recently celebrated, and what Pennsylvania animal would be visited by the tooth fairy more than any other? The Virginia Opossum, Didelphis VirginianaNorth America’s only native marsupial, has more teeth than any other mammal in North America with a whopping 50 chompers. Their showing of teeth when threatened has earned them the nickname “grinners.” Opossums can be found from Canada to Northern Costa Rica. The name opossum is an adaptation of apasummeaning “white animal” in Algonquin. Two US Presidents had a pet opossum. A male opossum is a Jack; a female is a Jill.

Baby opossums, like their kangaroo cousins, are called Joeys. Joeys are born 12-13 days after conception at the size of a bee. They nurse attached to the Jill’s 13 nipples inside a pouch(marsupial) for about 9 weeks. They then go for “opossum back” rides until they are big enough to fend for themselves. An opossum generally lives for 1.5 years in the wild, but some live up to 5 years.

Opossums can and do carry rabies, however they are semi-resistant and not prone to getting it or spreading it. You are much more likely to get rabies from a feral cat than an opossum but avoid contact with any wild animal. Opossums can carry the bacteria responsible for several human diseases.

A startled opossum will go immobile and limp. They aren’t just playing around. They are physically incapacitated, called “tonic immobility” their breathing slows, the mouth gapes open, the eyes stare fixed, the heartrate drops, and they sometimes drool and emit a foul odor. Many animals have this “off button” to allow them to avoid some but not all predators. It’s less useful for vehicular encounters.

Opossums have a prehensile tail, meaning it can grasp objects. The tail can be used to aid in climbing, balance, and carry nesting materials. They cannot use it to support their full body weight when grown, and for professionals, possums should not be handled by the tail.

Roughly 20,000 opossums are harvested annually in Pennsylvania and make a delicious meal for the adventurous eater. Opossums were regionally a common Thanksgiving Day meal. Opossum meat can be substituted for suckling pig. It has a rich, pork-like consistency, and from personal experience, pairs well with root vegetables.

The tooth fairy is a made-up story, another good one is that opossums eat 5,000 ticks a year. This legend is based on a study that put ticks on caged opossums and then counted the number of ticks that fell off the animals. The researchers leapt to the conclusion that the opossums must have eaten all the rest. To refute this, another researcher examined thousands of wild opossum stomach contents and found zero ticks. But this is one myth that may benefit them. If the fairy tale keeps circulating that opossums consume thousands of ticks, people may be less likely to consider them a pest and leave them alone

More Opossum Reading to Make You Grin

Can You Eat Opossum? Things to Know Before Dining – A-Z Animals

Opossum | Game Commission | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Opossum Defense Mechanisms | Opossum Society of the United States (OSUS)

Hosts as ecological traps for the vector of Lyme disease [Journal Article]

Wildlife of Florida Factsheet: Virginia Opossum

Outdoor Illinois Journal: Debunking the Myth: Opossums Don’t Eat Ticks

McRuer DL, Jones KD (May 2009). “Behavioral and nutritional aspects of the Virginian opossum (Didelphis virginiana)”. The Veterinary Clinics of North America. Exotic Animal Practice. 12 (2): 217–36, viii. doi:10.1016/j.cvex.2009.01.007. PMID 19341950.

Of Possums and Presidents: Some Presidential Encounters with Opossums | Folklife Today