Backyard and Beyond

Starting out from Brooklyn, an amateur naturalist explores our world.

As John Burroughs said, “The place to observe nature is where you are.”

Didelphis virginiana

How sad to run across an opossum stiff with death and cold.
This one was the size of a very large cat. I hope he or she was a great fount of progeny.
The tail is finely haired.
Magnificent and remarkable creatures with bad press. They snarl when cornered, they’re vicious in a cage. But then, aren’t we?
Our only marsupial. As they’re nocturnal, I’ve only seen them a few times here in Brooklyn. Long ago in Prospect; once here in Green-Wood; and once a few blocks away on a residential street.
Did you know they hoover up ticks like there’s no tomorrow? They’re also immune to rabies.
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Come on, Iowa, you can do it!

mthew

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2 responses to “Didelphis virginiana”

  1. Ellen

    I am a big fan of possums and follow several rescuers. They are really great creatures and not what people think. They are a lot like big cats when kept by rescuers because they may have issues that make them unreleasable. Plus they eat ticks!

    Reply
  2. Francesca Jones

    I once had two cats who had a cozy round basket/bed in our garage . One day I walked thru garage saw both cats wandering and out of corner of my eye saw something in cat bed
    So.. I knew I saw both cats .. looking closer it was possum curled up comfy as could be .. those two big old tough cats were not going to mess even though you know they wanted that bed back real bad .. so we had to to intervene n chase him away

    Reply

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