Benefits of opossum

[Laurasea]

Our only marsupial is actually pretty beneficial! A single opossum can eat 5,000 ticks a year! They eat snakes even poisonous ones! And slugs and snails, baby rats and mice. They don’t seem to carry rabies ,
They don’t dig holes tho they will move into one dug by other critters,
Anyway yeah opossum!

 

[noodles123]

They are one of my favorite animals. I love them! Sadly, they don't live very long at all! I always thought they lived for many years, but I think the oldest on record was like...4 or 5 or something lol! Poor babies! They can be quite nice if they are used to you, honestly. I had a friend who grew up in the country, and when she was little, she was bored and started trying to feed this opposum her toast in the mornings (obviously best not to do this, but kids will be kids). Anyway, it got to the point where it would come sit on her, and taught its babies to do the same lol! Again, not advocating this, as it can harm them, but still cute.

 

[Laurasea]

Noodles! Yiu are the best! This one lives in my yard and has since a little baby, yes I read only live a couple of years...
I raised a baby once that was found after a hurricane, it was so sweet! I gave to an animal education department st a zoo they were really thrilled to have him

So many peoples first thought is to kill any critters they find in their yard,,, they belong here to, do so much good , and besides most people never know they are around

 

[Laurasea]

I have an armadillo too! They eat insects, it’s never bothered my garden, yes someone little holes in the yard when it dugs up bugs. They eat fire ants!!! I have no fire ants in my yard thank you armadillo!!! Other people I’m my neighborhood have fire ant problem but not me!

 

[noodles123]

OMG I LOVE THEM TOO!!!!
The fact that they can carry leprosy actually makes me like them even more..
Not to worry lol, I was pinched (in anger) by someone who actually had very active leprosy (over 10 years ago) --long story----and I was frequently around people infected with it..so far, so good lol! It's not as contagious as they once thought. You pretty much have to ingest snot to catch it (from what I understand anyway)


They are so adorable and kind of bad at climbing because of their shape lol. I once was driving behind one on the road in a residential neighborhood, and it couldn't hop the curb, so it ran like the wind (for an armadillo...lol) which was like 5 MPH..if that...Just kept looking back at my very slow car and running until the curb stopped and it could go into a field haha! Poor guy!

 

[noodles123]

I have a groundhog (who is scared of me), lots of squirrels and 2 VERY tame rabbits in my yard. I was always in the garden as they grew up, so the rabbits have no fear of me, but they do fear my mom when she visits lol.

The groundhog lives 1-2 houses over, but he was having a staring contest with a squirrel when I came home from work the other day...on my porch! lol

 

[Laurasea]

Wausau - City and Possum Day Fun Facts
August 2nd, 2016 | last Update: 3 years ago

In a small town in Washington County called Wausau, there is a unique monument on the side of Highway 77 in the center of town. It is a monument honoring the Possum.

The inscription reads:

Erected in grateful recognition of the role the
North American possum, a magnificent
survivor of the marsupial family pre-dating
the ages of the mastodon and the dinosaur

 

[SailBoat]

When we lived deeper into the City near city center, we had several families of opossum. They never bothered us and we did the same their way. Only way I knew they had been in our backyard was when their eyes reflected back at night.

At the edge of the city, our new home has a wide cross-section of wildlife, but we have not seen opossum here. They are likely here, just deeper in the wooded areas.

Sorry for the step in on the discussion, but its just one of those off topic subjects that is just fun!