ANOTHER SIDE TO OPOSSUMS
Horse owners have an understandably rocky relationship with the opossum because of its role in the life cycle of the parasite that causes equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM). But don’t overlook the little marsupial’s potential as a cleanup crew for ticks, carcasses and other undesirable elements on your property. Here are a few facts about opossums:
• A recent study by the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, New York, showed that opossums are “tick magnets,” which doesn’t sound like a good thing but actually can be. That’s because opossums are fastidious groomers, swallowing almost all of the ticks they host. And they snuffle up any ticks they find on the ground. The study indicated that in one season a single opossum could eat as many as 5,000 ticks—earning him an important role in the fight against tick-borne Lyme disease.
• The opossum is the only marsupial (mammal with a pouch) in North America. The female opossum carries her young, which are born tiny and helpless, in her pouch until they’re around 2 months old, after which they’ll sometimes ride on her back.
• Opossums eat mostly carrion, nuts, berries and even rodents like mice and rats. They’re known as the 24-7 cleanup crew. Opossums are nomadic, usually staying in one area for only a few days or so.
• According to the National Opossum Society, opossums tend to be immune from many diseases that commonly affect other mammals, and they are less susceptible to rabies than are dogs, cats, cattle and other mammals.
• Opossums are not all that fierce. “In fact,” says Laura Simon, president of the Connecticut Wildlife Rehabilitators Association and wildlife ecologist with the Humane Society of the United States, “they’re rather shy. Photos usually show opossums looking fierce and baring their teeth, but it’s all a bluff; they don’t bite or attack. It’s a primitive form of defense: They can’t run fast or fight well so they have to rely on bluff and bluster. What they do is sway, hiss and drool to scare off a potential attacker but if that doesn’t work, they play dead. How pathetic! I know they aren’t considered all that cute. It’s those long noses, tiny eyes, and little pointy teeth—but so what? As I tell people, we aren’t all blessed with good looks.”