March 03, 1963 - OpossumOpossom
Exclusive Sunday Review sketch by Dennis Puleston of Brookhaven
Focus on Nature. by Paul Stoutenburgh, Cutchogue
OPOSSUM
Our family is fortunate to live
in one of the few remaining bits
of woodland on this end of the
island. Through the years we
have been rewarded by Mother
Nature a hundred times — nay,
ten hundred times for protecting
her precious wood
Not long ago our latest reward
came to us in the form of a slow
prodding animal, — the opossum.
To many the word opossum
means only that familiar phrase
"playin' possum ". This, by the
way, is not'at all a game of fun
for the opossum for when he is
"'playin' posseum" he is usually
in trouble.
Of all our animals, probably
this species ranks the lowest on
the IQ scale and so should not
be given any great credit for this
escape act. As a matter of fact,
we are told that he is actually so
frustrated and frightened that he
goes into a state of shock When
any violent attempt is made on
his life.
Should his attacker be someone
intent on killing, he passes out
of this world, without agony, in
this state of shock. Should it be
one who is merely out for a game
of tussle, he will play dead until
his attacker becomes discouraged
and leaves. Then arising, o f t e n
earless and scarred, he will wad-
dle off to recuperate in h i s
den. Al,moSt any place will suffice.
I have found them in old pails
in the woods, junk heaps, briar
thickets, under logs, a b a n Boned
buildings and even in my own
open -dt ored garage. Almost any
place handy and dry seems to be
good enough for his daydreaming
while at nighttime he is up and
on the prowl, being one of the
most nocturnal of all New York
State animals. His wanderings
will often take him miles from
his den and nothing edible will
pass by him unnoticed.
Opossums eat almost anything,
all sorts of birds' eggs, young
animals., crickets, apple s, gar-
bage, and of course carrion of all
kinds. The opossum never hiber-
nates for any lengthy period of
time. I have seen him out at
night on the hottest of nights and
I have also seen him 'sliding
across the ice on the coldest of
winter nights.
No matter when I see him, he
never seems to be in any great
hurry. Often at night I can stop
the car, get out, and easily over-
take him before he escapes into
the bushes. It is then that you
can really see that wonderful set
of dentures, 50 to be exact, that
he carries with him. He will bite,
so be cautious.
The opossum has few enemies
and this is probably the reason
for the unusual increase in our
area. Years ago they were no
where near as common as they
are now. Ironic as it may seem,
they have increased as o t h e r
wild life have decreased. They
have become so numerous they
pose a possible problem to the
farmer and the sports. man f o r
they will do grave damage to
crops, young birds and animals
alike.
Thirty years ago they were well
established here on Long Island
and in the Hudson Valley and
now upstate finds them a com-
mon resident — right into the
foothills of the Adirondacks. Proof
to you and I of their increase, is
the number we see dead along
our highways. I can remember
as a boy all,, too well when the
occasional skank was hit but do
not remember any quantity of
opossum being hit.
Now it is the exact opposite.
Here o n the Island, the s k u n k
has become the rarity and the
opossum the common.
Once established the o p o ssum
breeds prolificly, having from one
to 20 young usually twice a year.
Knowing the anatomy of a female
opossum this spells death a n d
disaster for some young ones, for
she puts out the feed bag for
only about thirteen. First come,
first serve is a pretty deadly call
for those who linger.
Only 12 to 13 days after concep-
tion they are born — naked, bee -
size and barely recognizable.
From the womb they instinctively
climb to the warm and snug
pouch under the mother's stom-
ach. This journey, probably the
most rewarding in life, is only
two to three inches but conceive
if you can, .these tiny helpless
creatures finding their way to
their mother's secure pouch and
nourishment. Two dozen of these
young would fit into a teaspoon.
Contrast this to the cat, similar
in size to the opossum, who gives
birth to well furred kittens that
weigh nearly two ounces. , What
a miracle of survival!
This is the only species of
pouch - bearing animals (marsu-
pials) we have in North America.
Of course the most commonly
known species is the kangaroo of
Australia whose pouch is a cross-
wise slit in contrast to the opos-
sum's vertical pocket.
The young remain in the pouch
securely attached to the mother
for 70 to 80 days and then start
to venture into the o u t s i d e
world as clinging young. During
this time there is a continual
shuttle between the m o t h e is
back;, and the feed bag. It is not
uncommon to see her brood all
over her as she moves about.
It is not until they are the size
of full grown mice several
weeks later that they become in-
dependent enough to participate
in the serious game of survival,
accompanying their mother on
her nightly prowls and agile tree
climbing. They begin to wander
away from their mother, return-
ing less and less frequently, until
they do not come back at all,
eventually becoming hermits like
their parents.
Nature has truly given us an
interesting and unusual animal in
the opossum. Cat-size, 1 o n g-
snouted, bare -eared with a rat-
like tail, he appears as one of
Nature's oddities not only in looks
but in habits. (Anywhere on the
Island you'll find him, waddling
down the road, slumbering in
the woodlands or safe at the top
of a tree where some dog has
chased him.
FIELD OBSERVATIONS
Field Trip — Feb 23
Argyle Pond
Black Duck (40)
Mallard (20)
Ruddy Duck
American Coot (15)
Canada Goose (40)
Ring-billed Gull (20) •
Belmont Lake
Ring - necked Duck (30)
Hooded Merganser (30)
Pied-billed Grebe (2)
Gadwall (15)
Widgeon (20)
Black Duck (50)
Mallard (15)
Mute Swan (5)
Wantagh
Shoveler (8)
Ring - necked Duck
Kingfisher
Jamaica Bay
Cowbird
House Finch
Tree Sparrow
Widgeon
Crow
sc .up
Hempstead Town Beach
Sandpiper
Sanderling (15)
Horned Lark
Jones Beach
Sparrow Hawk
Brandt (50)
Horned Lark (100)
White - winged Scoter
Snow Bunting (100)
Tobay Beach Sanctuary
Owl
Red - breasted luthatcyh ( )
Tree Sparrow # 7;'
Fox Sparro , ' °.•
Myrtle Warbler (10)
Lo eared Owl
Th
Junco (3)
Marsh Hawk
Black - bellied Plover (4)
Red - breasted Merganser
Scaup
Bufflehead (5)
Kildeer
Mrs Dorothy Tuthill reports:
Mattituck — Feb 19
Mockingbird
Mr and Mrs Alvah Goldsmith
report:
Southold — Feb 19
Mockingbird
House Finches
Cardinals