Are there possums in europe

They will hunt mice, birds, insects, worms, snakes, and even chickens. They extend their tongues and generally appear to be dead. This ploy may put a predator off its guard and allow the opossum an opportunity to make its escape. Opossums are excellent tree climbers and spend much of their time aloft. They are aided in this by sharp claws, which dig into bark, and by a long prehensile gripping tail that can be used as an extra limb.

Opossums nest in tree holes or in dens made by other animals. These animals are widespread and are sometimes hunted as food, particularly in the southern United States.

All rights reserved. A Virginia opossum Didelphis virginiana with babies photographed in Lincoln, Nebraska. Common Name: Opossums. Scientific Name: Didelphidae. Type: Mammals. Diet: Omnivore. Harrison There was a scratching noise outside, down below a line of ice on the window that blocked my view. It was Christmas Day, and there were six inches of snow on the ground.

Whatever was scratching, I thought, was a cold-weather survivor. Its beady black eyes stared at me; the mouth drooled, and its lips were drawn back in sardonic grin that revealed many of it 50 needle-sharp teeth. Then the long-haired animal continued to scarf up birdseed that had blown out of the feeders and up against the base of the window.

The cold wind blowing against its matted hair and naked feet seemed to say that this animal was out of its element. A southerner by origin, opossums have extended their range well into the northern United States, including the area of Wisconsin where I live.

But pioneering into cold habitat has come at a price. I noticed that this opossum outside my window had lost some toes and part of its tail, probably to frost bite. The opossum, formerly know as the Virginia opossum, is one of a kind among North American mammals. Arguably the ugliest and perhaps slowest in movement, some people have also called it a dim-witted creature that often smells bad. And if one assumes that brain size is a measure of intelligence, the opossum could emerge at the bottom of the I.

Vernon Bailey, a former naturalist with the U. Biological Survey, decided to measure the brain capacity of a number of common animals by filling the brain pans with beans. In comparison, Bailey recorded the following number of beans for other animals: skunk, 35 beans; porcupine, 70; raccoon, ; red fox Other scientists, however, have found evidence that opossums do not deserve the "dim-witted" label.

Researcher William James of the University of Georgia, for instance, discovered that opossums were better at remembering where food was hidden in a complicated maze than were dogs, cats, rabbits or turtles. In fact, only humans were clearly superior to them in such studies. Cornell University researchers, meanwhile, discovered that opossums learned quickly how to distinguish between toxic and edible mushrooms, even though the plants used in the study were nearly identical in appearance.

Intelligent or not, opossums clearly are adaptable, which is why they have survived for more than 50 million years, far outliving such creatures as the saber-toothed tiger. During this time, their instinctive behavior has helped them cope with adversity. Unlike in the States, where feeding wildlife is discouraged or even illegal, conservationists in England endorse supplemental feeding of wild hedgehogs. And the first week in May has been dubbed Hedgehog Awareness Week, a celebration with a full slate of hedgehoggy events.

I was thrilled to learn about all the heartfelt and capable efforts on behalf of this gentle, appealing, beneficial garden animal. Yet the more I learned, the more I began to be aware of a simmering disquiet, which I eventually identified as … envy.

Yes, I was envious. Because we Yanks also have a gentle, appealing, beneficial garden animal. The opossum is the closest American analogue to the hedgehog. Though the two animals are not at all related, they share many similar characteristics, chief among them their uniqueness. Like the hedgehog, the opossum is docile and shy. Both favor a non-confrontational defense method—hogs roll up into a tight, spiky ball when threatened, while opossums play dead—and both are completely helpless if their defense tactics fail.

Like the hedgehog, the opossum is enormously valuable to gardeners, hoovering up pests such as snails, slugs, cockroaches, centipedes, and even mice and rats. A single adult opossum also can eat up to 5, ticks a summer, which in this era of Lyme disease paranoia should make everyone want to run right out and entice an opossum into their garden.

And because of their low body temperature, opossums rarely carry the rabies virus. They are fascinating creatures with opposable thumbs on their rear feet, prehensile tails like monkeys, and pouches like kangaroos—baby opossums are even called joeys and are arguably as cute as baby hoglets.

Where are the plans for opossum houses, the recipes for opossum snacks, the knitted opossum earmuffs their naked ears are prone to frostbite?

Some of these animals were also taken to New Zealand. The number of species of the possums is 64 while there are more than 60 opossum species. While in this involuntary defensive state, their mouths will be open, lips turn black, teeth show, secrete a foul liquid, and foam appears from the mouth. Opossums are commonly known as possums in the southern United States.

Ferdinand Bada July 16 in Environment.