Opossum Myths Debunked

Having a possum saunter into your kitchen in the middle of the night is a strange and terrifying experience. Talking to people about possums is even stranger. Everyone seems to have a story, advice, and/or interesting facts about these weird little creatures. I have never actually thought much about possums, but after a whole day of talking, reading and stressing about one particular possum, I have a number of myths that I feel like I should dispel, just because.

Myth #1 Opossums do not carry rabies.
A number of people told me this while I was trying to figure out whether or not I should touch the possum with a festering head wound. (It is amazing I even considered it.) Advice would be shared with the caveat, “but don’t worry, they don’t carry rabies.” However, it turns out that they can carry rabies; however, the occurrence of rabid possums is very low*. Scientist theorize that the body temperature of an opossum is too low for the rabies virus take hold.

Myth #2 Opossums hang from their tails.
The North American opossum is the only mammal in the US with a prehensile tail. Only baby opossums can hang from their tails, because once the opossum gets larger it can no longer hold its own weight and therefore, can no longer hang from its tail*.

Myth #3 Opossums are vicious creatures.
Perhaps the opossum developed this reputation because of its appearance. Opossums look like a larger silver rat with a long scaly tail, small beady black eyes and a pointy mouth full of sharp little teeth. It turns out that opossums are generally very mild mannered and do not attack. One website recommended that if an opossum is found in the house it can be “coaxed outside with a broom.”*

Myth #4 Opossums will play dead*.
This is true. I have actually seen it first hand. One night at Café Europa, Ian and I were walking back to the parking garage when we came upon a baby possum walking through the grass. I don't think I had ever even seen an opossum and therefore was utterly suprised when Ian start yelling and jumping up and down in front of the little thing. The poor baby possum just keeled over. It was then that Ian filled me in on the “playing possum” phenomenon.

Myth #5 Opossums will squirt ink when playing dead.
I saved this for last because it is the weirdest. I was leaving daycare with Bronwen and mentioned to a fellow mother that I had an opossum in the house and was going home to deal with it. As had become a predictable event, the mother started to describe her experiences with her own possum that lives on the tree over her deck and harasses her dog. Her advice to me was to scare it so that it would play dead, and then scoop it up with shovel and take it outside. She said that she had tried this with her own possum invader and it had worked perfectly. There was only one draw back, she said, and that is the “opossum ink” that squirts out. She then went on to describe the sticky black ink that oozed out of her own possum that made her think it was dead, but that turns out simply to be some sort of possum ink. I said that I hoped it didn’t “ink” in my kitchen, but thanks for the advice. I could find nothing on the web about “possum ink” however, at http://www.opossumsocietyus.org/ I found mention of opossum anal gland fluid. Here is what it said,

“Fear can cause release of a greenish-colored anal fluid. Opossums cannot “spray”, and the only way this unpleasant-smelling body fluid can come in contact with you is if your clothes brush the anal area. It washes off easily.”

So there you go. I think that explains that.