While working in the field yesterday my son Matt was surprised by a tree that hissed at him. The tree was hollow and contained a family of O'possums. At least he didn't take any home with him. My younger daughter raised a baby one to adulthood in the house.
Hissing is OK, Rattling ain't. 😉
Not sure what yours are like, but ours have a defence where by they spray urine all over you.
Happened to my offsider once when we were surveying in the bush and I chose a suitable tree with a nice spur on its roots to drive a spike in for a reference mark.
Turned out to be a possums home and it let go from on high! Didn't like the thumping of the spike into the tree. Stinking things they mess over everything in their path.
They do look rather cute.
I looked yours up but wasn't sure what they were. The one I saw was a bit scrawny and somewhat ugly.
Richard, post: 436819, member: 833 wrote: Not sure what yours are like, but ours have a defence where by they spray urine all over you.
Happened to my offsider once when we were surveying in the bush and I chose a suitable tree with a nice spur on its roots to drive a spike in for a reference mark.
Turned out to be a possums home and it let go from on high! Didn't like the thumping of the spike into the tree. Stinking things they mess over everything in their path.
They do look rather cute.
I looked yours up but wasn't sure what they were. The one I saw was a bit scrawny and somewhat ugly.
Richard,
They are a bit on the ugly side. Their most well known defense mechanism is to play dead.
How did you know they were from Ireland? Ireland is the native home of the Possum, O'Possum and MacPossum clans.
Richard, post: 436819, member: 833 wrote: They do look rather cute.
Wait until one bites you, bet you won't think they are "cute" then! 😉
Richard, post: 436819, member: 833 wrote: The one I saw was a bit scrawny and somewhat ugly.
Stacy Carroll, post: 436820, member: 150 wrote: They are a bit on the ugly side.
not sure why y'all insist on being so polite.
uglier than a bum's underwear.
I'll simply say that there are two fewer of them in my immediate neighborhood now. Went lookin' fer coons 'n' found possums instead. Thievin' critters.
Apparently the Australian opossum is a different species of animal more closely related to kangaroos.
The American opossum is a marsupial which looks like a large rat, very ugly. The pictures in the image search don't do justice to their ugliness. The ones that live in my neighborhood are just gray and ugly, I'm not sure even a mother could love them they are so ugly.
As a child I was given a toy stuffed opossum from the St. Louis zoo. It looked very real.
One day I was exploring our barn with my sister. I noticed 'my' opossum in an old baby carriage. Thinking I would scare her I picked up an old knife and stabbed it (with the intention of flinging it on her of course).
Suddenly the head came up to my eye level and hissed. Mama opossum was pi$$ed. Lucky I didnt get bit. I did succeed in scaring my sister, but got myself just as good...
Possums eat a ton of ticks, BTW.
Stacy Carroll, post: 436820, member: 150 wrote: Richard,
They are a bit on the ugly side. Their most well known defense mechanism is to play dead.
Stacy,
Don't you know, they are born dead on the side of the road.
As a boy in the south, I made rabbit boxes and caught rabbits. When your checking them before daylight always remember to bring a light and look before pulling the rabbit out. When you have no light, that hissing is NOT a good thing... Case in point: you reach in and grab a leg and pull. Hissing ensues. Always remember to make the boxes small so the possum can't turn around and bite you
This....................
This in Australia....................................... 
versus this here....................................... 
Bluegrass song around here:
5 pounds of possum
in my headlights tonight
If I can run'nem over
Everything's gonna be alright......
Well you get the picture.
Possum' in a sack, Billy and Jack...........;)
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FL/GA PLS., post: 436865, member: 379 wrote: Possum' in a sack, Billy and Jack...........;)
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I've actually seen a possum in a sack. They don't like it much at all. Sackin' a possum would best be done after he had expired due to their exuberant desire to be on the outside of the sack.
Zapper, post: 436839, member: 6470 wrote: Possums eat a ton of ticks, BTW.
I figured this was just some BS put out by the possum lobby, but internet says it's true: http://www.snopes.com/opossums-kill-ticks-inhibit-the-spread-of-lyme-disease/
When I was a kid, only good possum=dead possum. Spreaders of rabies, biters of puppies, kittens, and children, road hazards, nasty-smelling when inevitably hit on road...
