Opossums were imported during the depression as a food source, for hungry people. They don't carry rabies. They eat small rodents and clean up scraps. Supposedly they do not pose a threat to livestock as a predator, though they do carry a harmful to horses bacteria in their feces. Many farmers have disagreed with this sentiment, claiming that more than once opossums have raided their chicken houses. This opossum lives inside of our porch. We had planned on letting her be, but Friday night the skunk met the opossum on said porch. Now both animals are on the "hit list". At least we don't have to deal with being mocked by animal control.
I think they're so cute, but I've heard about the raids on chickens. Do they really hang upside down in the trees by their tails???
ReplyDeleteI did not know the opossum facts you shared. Very interesting, thanks for sharing. The opossums here in the Northwest look very different, not so cute. More bald and rat like.
ReplyDeleteI think skunks are adorable...until they start getting terratorial and spraying.
Best of luck with your wildlife creatures,
Pamela
I clicked on your site through freckle's blog. Had to come over and say hi. I love opossum too, although we had one that lived under our porch in our old house and it smelled like rotten meat! The skunk opossum face-off would have been interesting to see.
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