The Opossum

Riana’s comment about the boldness of my opossum made me realise that most of you in the UK would be unaware perhaps of the opossum’s reputation!

“Playing possum” is a common expression here in the United States, and here’s why:

They are North America’s only marsupial, they can carry their young in a pouch, like a kangaroo, and they can play dead.

Possums are famous for “playing dead” when threatened, but this isn’t quite accurate. They are not “playing” dead at all: the possum goes into shock when particularly stressed. While not dead, it can be found lying on its side with its legs extended and is, in fact, limp and unconscious during this time, like a person who has fainted.

While playing dead discourages predators from chasing the possum, it also makes them vulnerable. When drivers see the limp possum in the road, they don’t bother to swerve, since they assume it’s already dead. There are also accounts of people shooting the comatose possum in order to “put it out of its misery.” There is such a thing as overplaying a part.  

If I had advanced toward the opossum, it is quite likely it would have ‘played possum’!  That’s why I stood still, and left it alone.

I have seen them on rare occasions in my back garden.  They will come to eat the bird seed which has been knocked out of the feeding stations.  They are odd, ghostly animals.