Page 10 - PGA Community News - August '24

Page 10, PGA C.A.N.! August 2024 August 2024
Northern Notes

Awesome Opossums! cockroaches, crickets, beetles, slugs, snails, snakes and On the other
many others, make them an invaluable part of the natural hand, possums live in
By Katie Roundtree, world. Australia, New Guinea,
Director of Finance and Another remarkable trait of opossums is their immunity Sulawesi, New Zealand
Administration to various toxins and venoms. They are resistant to and China. Their name
Northern Palm Beach honeybee stings, scorpions, botulism toxin and even does derive from
County Improvement snake venom. In fact, they have partial or total immunity opossum. Sir Joseph
District to the venom of pit vipers like rattlesnakes, copperheads Ba nks, a Bri t i sh
Virginia Opossums, and water moccasins. This unique immunity, known to botanist, thought they
the animal native to scientists since the 1940s, is being studied for potential looked enough like the
North America and, more medical applications, such as the development of a low- American opossum to give them a similar name. However,
specifically, Florida, is a cost rattlesnake antivenom. kangaroos and other Australian marsupials are closer
misunderstood and one of They are nearly impervious to rabies because their relations than American opossums. Possums belong to
nature’s more fascinating body temperature is too low to host the rabies virus. If you the Diprotodontia order.
animals. It is the see an opossum who’s hissing, drooling or swaying, don’t Al t ho ug h t he y
northernmost panic and assume they’re rabid! Opossums use these bluff may look dangerous,
marsupial in the behaviors and play dead to outsmart potential predators. opossums are relatively
world and North Contrary to popular belief, opossums aren’t staging docile and harmless
America’s only a dramatic play of their own demise. Instead, they enter creatures. They
m a rsupi a l . A a state called “tonic have some fantastic
female opossum immobility,” which superpowers that
gives birth to tiny, is a physiological can help humans by
underdeveloped response to extreme limiting the spread of
young opossums, stress. An opossum diseases and cleaning
who will grow up in the mother’s pouch for 8 to 10 weeks. playing dead will up trash left by other scavengers. Next time you see one,
Once the young emerge from the pouch, the offspring will typically lie on its appreciate them for the amazing and fascinating creatures
remain with the mother, sometimes riding on her back, for side with its eyes that they are.
another six weeks. This earns her one of her nicknames, closed. Its breathing will get shallow and may even appear For more information on Florida wildlife and how you
“nature’s minivan.” Once weaned and ready to forage on to stop completely. While they don’t spray like skunks, can help, visit www.southfloridawildlifecenter.org.
their own, the mother will shake any remaining offspring off opossums smell when they play dead. Sometimes, the South Florida Wildlife Center is a wildlife trauma
her back and move on to another area, leaving the young to opossum will loll its tongue and drool, even excreting care hospital and rehabilitation facility. Its mission is
continue on their own. waste to exaggerate its catatonic-like state. These signs to rescue, rehabilitate, and release injured and orphaned
Oposs ums, as will usually convince a predator that the opossum is dead, animals, educate the public about environmental issues
omnivores, play a crucial and it will lose interest. and foster a peaceful coexistence with wildlife in our local
role in the ecosystem. It’s important to note that the opossum and the possum communities. We provide educational programming to
They consume plants, are not the same animal. In North and South America, the local schools, community agencies and youth programs.
insects and small animal is referred to as an opossum, while in Australia and We provide wildlife rescue training for local municipality
animals, and are known other countries, it is called a possum. In North America, agencies, including law enforcement and fire rescue.
to scavenge for food in an opossum is a white and gray marsupial of the order NPDES Tip: Hurricane Season began June 1. Make
trash cans, earning them Didelphimorphia. The word “opossum” was derived from sure your yards and trees are trimmed to avoid flying debris
the nickname “nature’s its equivalent in Powhatan, a language spoken by the during a storm. Dispose of your trimmings and clippings
garbage man.” Their Virginia Algonquian tribe, and it means “white dog or properly. Do not put them into storm drains or lakes!
scavenging habits make beast” in Powhatan.
them excellent cleanup
crews, helping to keep
the environment free of
waste. Experience Dentistry
One of the most
significant roles of
opossums in the ecosystem is their ability to control
pests and diseases. Their unique superpower is the ability
to eat ticks, which can spread Lyme disease. Opossums with a
can consume thousands of ticks each week, assisting to
limit the spread of the disease. Their immunity to Lyme
disease and their role as opportunistic scavengers that eat
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