Opossums

There are two schools of thought on this.

One school of thought states that possums will almost always attempt to return to the territory where they were born and raised, unless they are relocated a very long way away. Relocation can be detrimental to the possum, because they then have to compete with other possums for that territory. As a result, they invariably die after relocation.

The other school of thought states that there is insufficient evidence that possums return to a territory to fight for territorial rights to the trees. The idea that the original possum returns comes from the fact that ordinary householders simply observe that there are possums present, and are not able to distinguish between individuals. If possums are removed from a location, then others simply move into the resultant vacant territory. "Relocation, clearly, is not a humane method of dealing with a possum problem".

References: State Government of Victoria, Department of Sustainability and Environment, Governor in Council order 1995. Pietsch R. 1994, "The fate of the common urban brushtail possums translocated to sclerophyll forest." in "Reintroduction biology of Australian and New Zealand Fauna" Surrey Beatty and Sons, Chipping Norton

No, though most people believe that. The male has a forked penis and the female has two vaginae. They only mate once a year but the female has two litters during one year. One of the pregnancies is delayed.

An opossum's adaptation is to act dead.

The opossum acts dead so the enemy will not bother to go near it,

the because enemy thinks the dead animal is to carry diseases.

Brush tail possums live in hollow trees and logs. Unfortunately, they also like to inhabit the roof space in houses, and have been known to make themselves at home in fireplaces and even dog kennels.

The defense of an opossum is that they pass out, or faint

Humans have impacted significantly on the Mountain pygmy possum's habitat. One of the main threats to the mountain pygmy possum is the human interference as a result of the possum's habitat coinciding with the location of Australia's main ski resorts. The possum's habitat is broken up by ski runs. Skiing and similar human recreational activities are a threat to this delicate creature.

Humans have also introduced animals such as wild cats and foxes which are also a problem. They prey on this small possum.

Another major threat to their survival is the fact that humans have introduced the blackberry species which are gradually making their insidious way up the slopes of the mountains, choking out native species, and thus threatening the mountain pygmy possum's food source.

20miles

Possums, which are quite different to opossums, are native to the continent of Australia. They are also found in New Zealand, to which they were introduced in the 1800s, in New Guinea and on some of the islands of Indonesia.

The opposum is a great actor. They put up an award winning bluff. Having 50 teeth they open their mouth very wide and hiss at the threat first. This is enough to make most attackers stop and think and perhaps even leave. Next they stumble around and fall over pretending to be dead. It is believed this is an automatic reaction to the stress. Then they can even emitt an evil smelling substance around the neck that makes them smell dead and sick. As far a protection from snakes they are amune to cottonmouth, rattle shake, and copperhead poisions. .. they also eat snakes along with about anything.. loving fruit, bugs, snales, mice, whatever.

No, an opossum is not a lizard.

An opossum is a marsupial.

It depends on whether the creature in question is a true possum, or an opossum, which is quite different.

True possums are native to Australia (and introduced to New Zealand), and they are entirely unrelated to opossums, except that both creatures are marsupials. The only disease a person or a pet is likely to get if bitten by a possum is tetanus from an untreated wound. Possums can also transmit ticks and fleas to household pets. There are no incidences of the rabies virus in either Australia or New Zealand. However, New Zealand possums are subject to a form of bovine tuberculosis which has so far been shown to be transmissible between cattle, possums and ferrets. This form of TB has not been found in Australian possums.

In North America, however, it is a different situation. The body temperature of an opossum is generally too low to harbour the virus: it is possible, although highly unlikely, for an opossum to carry the rabies virus. However, there is at least one documented case of a rabid opossum biting a child, so it can be presumed that in very unusual situations, opossums might carry rabies.

One way, might be to get a Have-A-Heart trap... A trap that just captures the opossum instead of needlessly killing it... After you catch it, you release it into a wild area far from you or your neighbors! I would suggest using different fruits as baits!

They do so because their predators do not eat animals that are already dead and so they fool the predator into believing that they are dead.

Yes

opossums have a very short gestation period and once born opossums must make their way to their mother's pouch. They will attach to a teat and will remain in the pouch for 70-125 days.

These animals are legal, indeed trainable, and NOT unpredictable. BUT they do belong in the hands of experienced owners. They need a very very strict diet. Not knowing about their diet needs, can lead to metabolic bone disease, and bulging eye syndrome. With that said there is a difference wild caught animals are illegal to own as pets, where as if you bought them from a pet store they are indeed legal. However there are laws more laws, and there is town ordinances or town laws that vary from town to town so you should check on a state and town level before owning such a pet.

Opossums are solitary creatures except for when they have young. You may find a couple opossums living together at a time.

The female has 13 teats.

After birth, most young marsupials, known as joeys, develop in the mother's pouch on her abdomen. Within the pouch, the teat swells in the young joey's mouth to help secure it in place. The joey remains in the pouch for up to nine months, depending on the species of marsupial.

There are some exceptions to this: the numbat, for example, has no pouch. The young remain secured in place by the swollen teat in their mouth, clinging to the mother's underbelly.

Ring tail possums prefer to eat the fresh new growth leaves in trees - common natives such as eucalyptus Malaccas, tea-trees, and greveille's They do like some fruits and flowers also. They rarely drink water - getting enough from the moisture in the leaves.

True possums of Australia do not bite. They may scratch in self-defence or if cornered, but will spend their time avoiding people or domestic pets wherever possible.

Many people call "opossums" by the name "possums". Regarding these animals, if they get the chance and feel the need, they will bite. Circumstances under which they will bite will be only in defence, if they feel threatened. DO NOT approach, annoy, provoke, touch, or otherwise fiddle with a wild possum. They are not cuddly, they are wild animals and will hurt you very badly if you try to pick them up.

There is no concern about rabies in possums. True possums, which are found in Australia, cannot carry rabies, as there is no rabies in that country or in New Zealand, to which the possum has been introduced. There are confirmed cases of North American Opossums infected with rabies, but these incidents are exceedingly rare.

No.

However, like most male marsupials (except for the largest species, the Red Kangaroo, Eastern Grey and Western Grey Kangaroos), possums have a "bifurcated" or two-pronged penis to accommodate the females' two vaginas.