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POSSUMS ARE AWESOME , let it be !!
Immune to rabies. Eats
5,000 ticks. Resistant to snake venom. 70 million years old. And everyone treats it like garbage.
The opossum — the most underrated animal in your neighborhood.
THE FACTS:
→ America's ONLY marsupial (carries babies in a pouch)
→ Virtually immune to rabies (body temp too low for the virus)
→ Eats up to 5,000 ticks per season
→ Resistant to pit viper venom (copperhead, rattlesnake)
→ Eats cockroaches, rats, snails, slugs, carrion
→ "Playing possum" = involuntary stress response, not acting
WHAT THEY DO FOR YOU:
→ Tick control (Lyme disease prevention)
→ Venomous snake control
→ Carrion cleanup (disease prevention)
→ Pest insect control
→ All free. All night. Every night.
THE PROBLEM:
→ Hit by cars constantly (slow, nocturnal)
→ Killed by dogs and people out of fear
→ Babies orphaned when mothers are killed on roads
→ Often confused with rats (they are NOT rodents)
IF YOU SEE ONE:
→ Leave it alone — it's helping you
→ If injured: wildlife rehabilitator, not animal control
→ If babies are clinging to a dead mother: call a rehabber immediately
→ Slow down on roads at night
70 million years of evolution. Immune to rabies. Eats your ticks.
Maybe stop screaming when you see one.
#Opossum #MisunderstoodAnimal #TickControl #Marsupial #WildlifeUS #DidYouKnow #Rabies