Tonight I had the pleasure of seeing the new Wes Anderson film Fantastic Mr. Fox. I really enjoyed the movie, but the role of Kylie, Mr. Fox's sidekick, got me thinking: ever notice how rare it is to see a positive portrayal of an opossum in the media? Or any portrayal of an opossum, for that matter? I find this a little odd, since opossums are quite ubiquitous throughout the warmer parts of the U.S. But they are also very shy and quiet; many people have never even seen one, despite the fact that they have probably stood within three feet of one on any given night of the year!
I'm a bit biased of course, having cared for hundreds of these odd
marsupials when I worked at the California Wildlife Center as a vet tech. I loved treating them. Nothing this side of baby tapirs is cuter than a tiny fuzzy baby opossum. Many people find them ugly as adults, with their myriad sharp teeth and naked tails, but they are really quite docile. I've been bitten by everything from squirrels to monkeys, and I can safely say that opossum go out of their way to spare your flesh.
In fact, there are really only two thing that they love to bite: mice and rats. Forget cats as rodent control. Your friendly neighborhood opossum has that job well in hand! They are not obligate carnivores though, and will happily clean up any fallen fruit or old cat food you have lying around your yard. They will even slurp up the snails and slugs that plague your garden! And like the kitchen fairies we all wish we had to do the dishes while we sleep, opossums render their services under cover of darkness. So spare a thought for your quiet neighbors. They really have your best interests at heart.
Want to find out more? Go to the Opossum Society to learn all there is to know about opossums!
I love how the mom carries her little ones, it looks so sweet :o)
ReplyDeleteThey're so cute. :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, I would rather have to care for an opossum than a squirrel any day!!! Well, besides the stink factor which I see you cleverly left out ;-)
ReplyDeleteI wish we still had them, the cats aren't doing a good job with keeping the rodents out of our attic.
Ah yes, the stink factor! True enough, but that just adds to their charm, right? ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments everyone!
Thanks for such a great post on these wonderful marsupials! I've been close to several in my life, and they were incredible. I didn't realize they go out of their way not to bite, because the young ones I had never tried to bite. They were orphaned in the pouch. One I found that was a little older didn't tame down, and the ones I've seen in the yard showed lots of teeth! But I love them. As you say, it's odd about the media. Stuffed opossums have been some of our all-time best sellers, although I know that a lot are for gag gifts, and many of the people who buy them think they're disgusting, and that's the whole point. Too bad :)
ReplyDeletethey are so cute
ReplyDeleteI loooove the picture with the babies!!!
ReplyDeletethey're cute :)
ReplyDeleteI can't share your love for them... we see them often here in South Florida knocking over our garbage pales, leaving BIG messes for me to clean up! I saw one walking along a wall in our courtyard!!! Eeek! :) I know they need a home & all, I just wish their home was not so near ours.
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weren't there opossums in Over The Hedge? they were super cute in that one, too! :)
ReplyDeleteI've always been very envious of people who live in possum-rich environments. It just seems like it would be so cool to have marsupials hanging around, especially when they have tiny little babies all over their backs (and I'll stop here before I go way girly overboard describing how cute that is).
ReplyDeleteI'm not normally a big fan of the opossum, but your post warmed me up to them just a little bit!
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures. I have a opposum picture on my blog too
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