Tick season is fast approaching and there’s one unlikely hero that might be able to help control these ferocious blood-sucking beasts: the opossum. Opossums are generally thought of as ugly, rat-like creatures who get hit by cars because of their habit of playing dead when scared (not the best tactic when facing a car). I’m here to inform you that opossums might not be the prettiest of animals ambling through our backyards but they are certainly ones to be appreciated, and maybe even adored.
The opossum pictured above is Pocket, a Virginia opossum from Georgia who currently resides at The Wild Center in Tupper Lake, New York. She is non-releasable due to brain trauma she suffered as a baby and being raised by humans, both these factors also lend to her calm demeanor. By the way, I am in no way recommending petting wild opossums. They have 50 teeth, more than most other mammals, so staying away is generally highly encouraged.
As an animal care intern at The Wild Center, I was able to observe, feed, create enrichment for, and all around learn more about Pocket and the other animals housed there. Unlike other opossums, Pocket doesn’t climb and she loves yogurt about as much as I love chocolate, if not more. She devoured yogurt and chicken necks with glee and grudgingly ate fruits and vegetables if they were also covered in yogurt. She’s a very special opossum.
But back to their entire species, these animals are unique for a variety of reasons, the first of which brings me back to ticks. Opossums can eat up to 5,000 ticks a season, meaning a whole bunch of little bugs that won’t be attaching themselves to you. Opossums groom themselves like cats and when they find a tick they pick it off and eat it, a great snack with good benefits for other animals like ourselves.
Another unique quality opossums have going for them is that they are the only marsupials in North America. Their babies are born after two weeks and are the size of a bumble bee. Once born, they crawl into their mother’s pouch and stay there for up to two months before emerging to ride on their mother’s back. At about five months old, opossums will go off on their own. Many times young opossums like Pocket will end up with rehabilitators if their mother is hit by a car while they are still in the pouch or riding on their mother’s back.
Still not convinced that you want these animals in your backyard? Many people tend to lump opossums in with raccoons and assume they may have rabies. You’ll be pleasantly surprised to know that due to their slightly colder body temperature, opossums are immune to rabies. They are also mostly immune to many snake venoms in North America as well as lyme disease, making it easier to eat all those ticks safely!
Basically, opossums, as unappealing as they may seem, do a lot of good for our ecosystem. Next time you see one strolling through your neighborhood this spring, hopefully you’ll be less repulsed by their hairless tail and many teeth and instead be happy to know that those little critters are protecting you one tick at a time.
Mads in the Wild 