Vermin Invasion

Our loyal and fierce dog, Libby, was found yesterday barking up a storm at this "cute" little creature. It was innocently snacking on the leftover bird seed on the ground.

Yes, this is in our backyard. And, you guessed it, it's an opossum.

We can now add "opossum" proudly to our evergrowing
list of vermin sitings in our backyard -
raccoon
turtle
deer
garter snake
wild turkey
chipmunks
squirrels
muskrat

With all of the excitement of spotting such a creature, the kids had endless questions about opossums. Here's what we've found. Now, settle down, I know you've all been dying to know some fun facts about them. Here we go:

• Opossums have long, hairless tails, which can be used to grab branches and carry small objects.
  
• They also have hairless ears and a long, flat nose.
  
• Opossums have 50 teeth.
• They have opposable, clawless thumbs on their rear limbs.
  
• Opossums have 13 nipples, arranged in a circle of twelve with one in the middle. (nice)
• Some well-fed opossums can seem gargantuan, especially when they startle you on an evening walk (Melanie! - or taking out the garbage)
• Opossums do not hibernate.
• They will rarely fight, despite hissing and showing teeth if threatened, and most likely will simply attempt to flee or play dead.

and last, but not least...

• The only animals that should avoid exposure to them are birds, horses, and sea otters. Strange as it may sound, if these animals ingest opossum feces they are at high risk of contracting a deadly disease known as sarcocystosis
  

(gosh, I'm sure glad we opted for a dog when the kids asked for a sea otter).