1-5: Unique Marsupial Marvels
1️⃣ Opossums are North America’s only native marsupial, meaning they carry and nurse their babies in a pouch—just like kangaroos!
2️⃣ A baby opossum is called a joey, and they are born about the size of a honeybee before crawling into their mother’s pouch.
3️⃣ A single opossum litter can have up to 20 babies, but only about half survive the journey to the pouch.
4️⃣ Opossums can have two to three litters per year, helping keep their populations stable.
5️⃣ Their prehensile tails act like a fifth limb, helping them balance while climbing trees.
6-10: The Clean-Up Crew of the Wild
6️⃣ Opossums eat 5,000+ ticks per season, making them one of nature’s best tick control animals.
7️⃣ They are immune to most snake venom, including rattlesnakes and cottonmouths, allowing them to eat venomous snakes without harm.
8️⃣ Opossums are scavengers and eat rotten fruit, roadkill, insects, and even small rodents, helping clean up their environment.
9️⃣ They are highly resistant to rabies due to their lower-than-normal body temperature, which makes it hard for the virus to survive.
🔟 Opossums also have a strong immune system that helps them survive infections and diseases that would kill other animals.
11-15: Playing Possum – A Survival Superpower
1️⃣1️⃣ When threatened, opossums can play dead—a response called tonic immobility, which causes them to fall over, foam at the mouth, and emit a foul odor to deter predators.
1️⃣2️⃣ This isn’t an act—they go into a catatonic state and can remain that way for up to 4 hours!
1️⃣3️⃣ Despite the dramatic performance, opossums don’t control this response—it’s an involuntary reaction, like fainting.
1️⃣4️⃣ Even if a predator bites them, an opossum will stay limp and unresponsive, tricking its attacker into thinking it’s already dead.
1️⃣5️⃣ Once the danger has passed, they wake up and carry on as if nothing happened.
16-20: Smart, Adaptable, and Surprisingly Friendly
1️⃣6️⃣ Opossums have excellent memories and can remember food locations better than dogs and even some primates.
1️⃣7️⃣ Despite their 50 sharp teeth (more than any land mammal in North America), opossums are gentle and rarely aggressive.
1️⃣8️⃣ Their hiss and open-mouth display is just a bluff—opossums prefer to avoid conflict rather than fight.
1️⃣9️⃣ These creatures have been around since the age of the dinosaurs, making them true survivors!
2️⃣0️⃣ Opossums have a short lifespan, typically 2-4 years in the wild, due to predators and road hazards.
21-25: Opossums in Oklahoma & Beyond
2️⃣1️⃣ Virginia Opossums are found all over Oklahoma, thriving in both rural and urban environments.
2️⃣2️⃣ They can live in trees, hollow logs, abandoned burrows, or even human structures like sheds and garages.
2️⃣3️⃣ Opossums are solitary creatures, only socializing during mating season or when a mother is raising her young.
2️⃣4️⃣ Unlike raccoons, opossums don’t dig through trash cans—they prefer to eat bugs and fallen fruit.
2️⃣5️⃣ Because of their many benefits to the environment, some people call opossums “nature’s little sanitation workers.”
Why Do We Love Opossums?
At Awesome Opossum Cleanings, we love a good clean-up—whether it’s tidying your business space or appreciating these amazing little creatures. Just like opossums keep nature in balance, we keep your workspace fresh and spotless!
Want to learn more about opossums? Follow us on social media for more fun facts, updates, and cleaning tips!
📧 Contact us at awesomeopossumcleanings@gmail.com
📍 Serving businesses in Yukon, OK & surrounding areas