So, I was asked by a very special person to blog a little about possums. So I'm going to do just that. So first, for those of you just starting in your exploration of our beautiful, natural world, what is a possum? A possum is a furry little creature that is nocturnal and has the funniest defense weapon in all of the animal kingdom, in my opinion. For those of you that don't know what a possum looks like, here you go:
mad possum,
baby possums,
scared possum,
and of course, happy possum!!
So yeah, those are possums. I know, I know, not the cutest things on the planet, but each creature holds its own unique beauty. Well, I certainly hope so at least. So anyway, the funny defense weapon. All animals have something to protect themselves from predators. Rattlesnakes rattle their tales, cobras open their hoods, stinkbugs stink (duh?), and some insects just taste bad. Possums, on the other paw, have one of the most unusual talents in that degree. What does a possum do when it is threatened? It plays dead. Yes, like a dog, but much, much better. So all those cartoons about ladies fainting when they are scared by a mouse, actually depict possums. Ha ha. I know I am probably the only one laughing, but what else is new? Given their od' de natural, possums pull of the "I'm dead" trick pretty well. I mean, who wants to eat a stinky piece of dead possum?
Possums are not the most lovable of creatures, but they do appear in some of our movies. Take for instance the two possum brothers in the animated film Ice Age II: The Meltdown. They are two mischievous little brothers who hang out with a mammoth. Strange company, huh? Possums also make a rather overly-dramatic appearance in Over the Hedge, another animated film. A father possum and daughter possum help the Raccoon to steal food from the humans.
