Into the Outdoors: Let's Look at the Opossum
- Editor
- 48 minutes ago
- 3 min read
This time around, we are going to take a little look at the opossum, better known in these parts as just possum. These are truly unique little critters, and often pay visits to porches that contain cat or dog food. They seem to be paying me a lot of visits in the last few weeks.
To many people, possums bear a strong resemblance to rats, probably due to their bare tail. Actually, they are not really even rodents. They are marsupials, somewhat related to kangaroos. Marsupials carry their young in a pouch, where they nurse and develop. Upon venturing from the pouch, the babies ride on the mother’s back until they are able to fend for themselves. I personally find possums rather cute, especially the baby ones. Their front paws are strikingly similar to human hands. For a really cute experience, visit YouTube and search for baby opossums. There are many videos on there, and they are truly a lot of fun to watch. In the photo, which I found on the Internet, baby possums are hitching a ride on mama’s back. If one drops off unnoticed by the mother, it will probably die.
Possums are actually pretty beneficial. They are part of nature’s clean up crew, as they are very fond of eating carrion. They are also notorious eaters of ticks. Ticks have, of course, become a huge problem, especially here in Pennsylvania. Even a little possum can hold a lot of ticks, and they love ‘em. The idea that they eat a thousand ticks in a day is, of course, a myth. They also have a certain degree of immunity to snake venom, and are even resistant to rabies.
According to my research, possums are rather popular as pets in areas where it is legal to keep them. This is not allowed in Pennsylvania. In the end, that is probably for the best. I pretty much believe that wild animals belong in the wild, as they were intended to be.
Another common, but less often seen critter in these parts is the porcupine. These guys are rodents.They are covered with sharp spines, called quills, for protection from predators. Contrary to popular folklore, they cannot throw their quills. It takes actual contact. This means that getting stuck with a batch of quills is very easy for humans to avoid. Animals, however, are not so fortunate. Back in the eighties, when I had coonhounds, every once in awhile, one of them would come back with a face, or even mouth full of porcupine quills. Birds of prey, which stupidly swoop down on a porcupine, get quilled so badly that it sometimes keeps them from flying, and they eventually die.
Needless to say, few things prey on porcupines. One notable exception, however, is foxes. They will sometimes tunnel under the snow and grab the porkies by the belly, as there are no quills there. They don’t call them sly foxes for nothing.
Porcupines love to chew on almost anything. Unfortunately, this includes such things as radiator hoses, wires, etc. on vehicles, as well as siding and shingles on houses, and other things we’d rather they leave alone. All in all though, while not cuddly, porcupines are actually okay.
You know, all the changes in deer hunting have made me a bit nostalgic. The Saturday opener just doesn’t sit right with me. In the old days, you had three days of anticipation after Thanksgiving. Those were fun. The process of getting a doe license was an event in itself. When I was a kid, my dad and I would be in line at the County Treasurer’s office by 6 AM, and there was indeed always a line by then. When the in person sales were discounted, we took our applications to the outdoor mailbox at the Kittanning Post Office the night before. It’s hard to not miss those old time things, even though they could be a bit of a pain.
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