Was he dead or playing possum?

On our morning walk this morning, the dogs caught a whiff of this possum out in a neighbor’s front yard. For a moment, I thought he was dead. Then I remembered that possums “play possum,” or pretend to be dead when threatened. I thought they were nocturnal. I can’t remember the last time I saw one in the day time.

So I did some research. Opossums can be out day or night foraging for food. And they don’t just pretend to be dead. Apparently, they faint when threatened and express an unpleasant odor so that a predator will leave them alone.

My friend Phil called them “soft shell armadillos.” He was not a fan. But it was armadillos, not possum, that was digging up his yard.

Opossums are immune to venom and are rabies resistant. They are omnivores, and will eat a lot of the snails, slugs, beetles, and ticks found in gardens.

We never know who we’ll meet on our walks!