Woodpile Sketches - Opossum (Didelphis virginiana)

Without question, the opossum (or just "possum") is the most fascinating creature that frequents the woodpile. It grows to the size of a large house-cat. It has opposable "thumbs" on its feet, so its tracks look like tiny human hand prints.

The possum is the only marsupial found north of Mexico. A "marsupial" is an animal that has a pouch that its babies live in until they are large enough to be independent. The babies are born only two weeks after they are conceived, when they must crawl from the birth canal to the pouch. They spend about two months in the mother's pouch. They will spend another month or two close to their mother, sometimes riding on her back, before they move off on their own.

Possums are solitary animals after leaving their mothers, and spend most of their short lives (they only live 2 to 4 years) constant moving at night, looking for food. They are "omnivores", which means they will eat just about anything: snails, mice, bugs, fruit, leaves and garbage from household trash cans. They have a large mouth of 50 sharp pointy teeth, which can make them appear ferocious, but in fact, they are very gentle creatures, and they avoid confrontation whenever possible.

One of the most fascinating facts about possums is their ability to "play dead". When threatened, they will fall in to a near coma, foam at the mouth, stick their tongues out and emit a terrible odor. This happens involuntarily and it can take hours for an opossum to wake up from this state.