The Kangaroos Cousin On the American Continent
Remember kangaroos and koalas? Those are famous marsupials – pouched mammals in which the embryo is born and crawls into its mother’s pouch to finish its development there. As they get larger, they will venture in and out of the pouch (as with kangaroos) and sometimes ride on the mother’s back as she hunts for food (as with opossums).
Opossums are the only marsupials in the American continent! They can be found from the U.S.A. to Argentina. There are more than 60 different species and can reach up to 76 cm (2.5 ft) from nose to tail. Their defense is to ‘play dead’ when threatened which is a comatose-like state induced by stress; opossums’ survival strategy is to bore its predator until it leaves it alone.
Unlike the urban legend says, opossums (tlacuaches) do NOT carry rabies and are NOT related to rats. These misunderstood animals do not dig into the soil nor do they destroy property, yet they are methodically eliminated because of the misplaced thought that they carry rabies, because people think they are plain ugly, and because of urbanization.
Instead, opossums are an asset to our gardens and neighbors! They eat nuts, fruits and insects, and they also kill mice, rats, cockroaches, and snakes as they compete with them for food. They also eat carrion thus helping to maintain a healthy and clean environment!
If your cat catches a baby opossum, or your neighbor casually runs over an opossum mom, or they start popping into your living room due to construction next door, you can get in contact with an animal rescue organization in Playa del Carmen, Facebook: ‘Claus denuncia, abandono y maltrato animal.’ They can tell you what to do and can look after these cute creatures until they are fit to be reintroduced into the jungle again.
