Wild Life / opossum

Meeting an opossum named Lavender

Hi, friends — this is issue #4 of my Friday newsletter about animal encounters. Please reply with any stories and to say hello. I’d love to hear from you. This week, let's consider the misunderstood, strangely wonderful North American opossum (Didelphis virginiana). Thanks! Amy Jean

We met Lavender the opossum last year during a meet-the-wildlife event sponsored by our town. Lavender arrived in a dog crate full of blankets. She wore a little coat, and, when her handler took her out, she nestled in his folded arms for the entirety of the presentation, with one paw, fingers extended, clutching his forearm. Her dark eyes were shiny and inscrutable.

Lavender was being cared for by a husband-and-wife team. Retired teachers, they were now dedicated opossum rescuers and educators. The trio was effective. The woman spoke and presented a slideshow, while Lavender and the man watched from the wings.

Opossums are immensely strange and prehistoric. I’ve seen them in the wild loping along roads while driving at night. To me, they seem like small ghosts. Their bright white faces glow in the headlights and, in the quick flash of an eye, they appear human. I tend to imagine a pint-sized old woman in a shawl crossing the road.

Opossums are the only marsupial in the United States. Like kangaroos, mother opossums raise their very tiny offspring (up to 13!) in a pouch. When born, the babies (aka joeys) are smaller than a Lego. They will stay in their mother's pouch to nurse and grow for about two and a half months. The mother will then carry her joeys on her back for another couple of months before they head out on their own. If a joey falls off his mother’s back, he will sneeze to get her attention.

Their diet is expansive (a common trait of more common animals) and includes insects, snails, eggs, rats and other rodents, snakes (fun fact: they are immune to rattlesnake venom), rotting fruit, dead animals, and they also enjoy pet food and garbage. Opossums will gnaw on the bones of dead animals for calcium. They are an important part of nature's clean-up crew and are beneficial creatures as far as humans are concerned. They also eat thousands of ticks. Their long fur acts like a broom, sweeping up ticks from the grass. As they groom themselves (like house cats), opossums pick the bugs out of their fur and eat them up. It's a handy system.

Opossums do in fact “play possum” and can act entirely dead. This is not a choice; instead, it is a defense mechanism that kicks in automatically. The effect is convincing. Saliva foams at the opossum's mouth and a horrible smell emanates from its anal glands. An opossum can remain in this state for a few minutes or up to a few hours.

Opossums are skittish, shy creatures and other than faking death, a main defense is to show their 50 sharp white teeth (the most of any North American land mammal) in a great jaw-unhinging way—but they won’t attack. Opossums mainly run away if they can.

Lavender the opossum had sustained some brain damage when she was rescued from a roadside. Instead of being released back into the wild, where she wouldn’t have survived, she became an educational animal. She lives a cozy life with her humans, snoozing on their lazy boy and using a litter box when necessary.

Following the presentation, the man walked through the audience of about 100 kids and grownups. People lined up to get a closer look at Lavender and pet her fur. My kids and I waited our turn. It was a remarkable thing to be hand to paw with an opossum.

Lavender’s fur was soft and fine. Her tail was also unexpectedly soft—like a pillow covered in lace, or a homemade felt toy. I was expecting something like a rat’s tail, but this was nothing like a rat. In the wild, an opossum's tail is one of her most useful tools and she uses it to carry and manipulate leaves and branches.

Oh, Lavender! Why are opossums so misunderstood? They only live for a few short years and sometimes I wonder about Lavender in her little coat. Is she still on the lazy boy? Meeting groups of children? Looking out at the crowds with her dark, shiny, somehow knowing, eyes? Thank you, Lavender, for meeting us halfway.

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Opossum links—

• Lavender lives! Here's a video of Lavender eating cauliflower on FernCroft Wildlife’s Facebook page (as well as information about her humans, Pamela and William Lefferts, and their rescue practice).

• This mother opossum is carrying her joeys down a sidewalk in Boston. The one hanging off the end is a champion.

• Here’s a night cam of a wild opossum carrying leaves in its tail, like a stuffed briefcase. And rescued joeys doing the same with straw.

Owl stories—

• Looking for more great horned owl stories if you have them. Here’s a nice mention of owlets in Indianapolis. (I really like the sound of “owlets in Indianapolis.” It sounds like a children’s book, doesn’t it?)

In other news—

• Art and animal encounters from 12,500 years ago: an incredible new find of cliff drawings in Colombia.

Also—

• Next week: the beautiful/terrible red fox. Also, I’d love to hear your suggestions for animals to consider.

• My opossum drawing is for sale—just look at her face. Please reply if you’re interested. I’ve had a few requests for more owls and will try to make that happen.

• Please forward to a friend—we all need more animals in our lives. The newsletter is free and comes out on Fridays.