I think opossums are super cute, albeit in a quirky way. With hairless tails and lots of teeth, to some people, these cat-sized, omnivorous marsupials are a bit ugly and off-putting. But I appreciate their odd appearance and how they are able to still survive in today’s modern suburbs. They are timid, nocturnal animals and being rather slow moving, unfortunately the are often hit by cars when they are crossing the road. Regular victims of “hit-and-runs” so to speak.
Over the past year, I have gotten over my squeamishness and “the gross factor” and started checking out roadkill opossums. If they look reasonably freshly hit and if I can pull my car over to a safe place, I will put on my plastic gloves, drag it out of the road and inspect it to see if its a male or female, and if a female, if there are babies in its pouch. I now keep plastic gloves in my car as well as a container because you never know when you are going to see a dead opossum on the side of the road.
Yesterday was my third opossum roadkill inspection and it was the first time I found one with babies in her pouch. Sadly, all nine of her babies had died — though not from the car strike as she was hit in the head. I am guessing the mother had been there for about 24 hours and they died from exposure, cold and lack of milk. (They were all still attached to her teats.)
They were probably far too immature to have survived had I arrived on the scene earlier. It was disappointing and a bit sad but it wasn’t gross like I expected it to be. I buried the little guys in the woods behind my back yard.
The more I have read about opossums is that they have a reputation for being aggressive but they are actually very shy little animals. Other than showing their teeth and hissing they are unlikely to bite or attack and are more likely to “play dead” when threatened — hence the phrase “playing possum”. Also, it is highly unlikely that they would have rabies or Lyme disease due to their low body temperature.
While doing this sort of thing is clearly not for everyone, perhaps some folks who read this might also be willing to check out opossum roadkill for surviving joeys — particularly if you hit the opossum yourself, then due to timing, there is a better chance of rescuing the joeys if there are any. This is the time of year that the females have babies in their pouches. They are amazing little animals and face a lot of obstacles to survive.
Thanks for reading my brief break from the ongoing mental exhaustion of everything corrupt and evil that Trump and the hypocritical GOP leaders are doing. Hope the dead joeys didn’t gross anyone out… they really were fascinatingly adorable — tiny whiskers, claws, ears … poor mama and babies.
Peace