- What is an opossum?
- Characteristics of the opossum
- Where does the opossum live?
- What does the opossum eat?
We explain what an opossum is, where these animals live, what they eat and other characteristics. Also, its importance in culture.
What is an opossum?
With the names opossum, chucha, fara or tacuacín certain Mexican species of opossum, a mammal American marsupial widely distributed in North, Central and South America. It is known in other geographies with the names of fox, rabipelado, guazalo or cangrejera, among others.
It is a very common animal in the continent, of importance in different ecological niches given their diet omnivorous and its basically arboreal life. It is a relatively aggressive animal, with a painful bite and nocturnal habits, which does not represent any serious danger to the human being, and that in some places it has even been domesticated.
The most common names of the Mexican variant, opossum or tacuacín, come from the Nahuatl language tlacuatzin, since this animal has an important presence in the pre-Hispanic imaginary of the region. According to certain myths Mexica, the opossum gave human beings the secret of fire, when it was jealously guarded by the mountain giants.
Count the legend that the fire was guarded by an army of ferocious jaguars, among which the opossum sneaked in, saying that it was cold, in order to steal an ember by clinging to it with its tail, and deliver it to humans. The heat from the grill, the legend explains, burned their fur and for that reason these animals have hairless tails.
Being the only marsupial that inhabits Mexican territory, the opossum was venerated and artistically represented by the aboriginal peoples. That is why statues and paintings are found in practically all archaeological sites in the country. In Tenochtitlán and Tlapacoyán figures from more than 1000 years ago with a recognizable opossum shape were found. It is a fundamental animal in the Mesoamerican imaginary.
Furthermore, this American species emerged more than 60 million years ago, and has changed very little over time, proof of its biological success. There are at least seven different genera of opossums in the American continent, and currently their encounters with the human species are much more common, given that their habitats are invaded by the growing urban sprawl of cities.
Characteristics of the opossum
Opossums or opossums are characterized by the following:
- They have four legs and a prehensile tail, devoid of fur, and a body similar to that of a medium-sized mouse or rodent (about the size of a domestic cat).
- They have a pouch or sac in which the newborn babies rest, until their size increases to the point of forcing them to leave and temporarily place themselves on their mothers' backs.
- They have an elongated snout and a strong bite, but they are skittish and have two typical defense mechanisms: secrete particularly smelly urine, similar to skunks or skunks; or lie down and play dead.
- Its habits are generally nocturnal and it is a solitary species.
Where does the opossum live?
Opossums live in trees and are also often seen in cities.
Opossums in general are arboreal, and are adapted to rural life. However, their presence in cities is increasingly common, which makes them a common victim of run-over and sometimes unfortunate encounters with human beings.
Possums are distributed throughout the American continent, with different endemic species highly adapted to its environment, throughout a territory that ranges from southern Canada, the United States and Mexico, to Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Bolivia and Ecuador. It is not considered an ecologically threatened species, or in any risk of extinction.
What does the opossum eat?
As with other possums, the opossum diet is essentially omnivorous, that is to say, that eats everything. It can serve as predator of injured small animals or medium-sized animals, or act as an opportunistic hunter or detritivore, but it is also common for it to eat fruits and seeds of different kinds.
When it is in the vicinity of humans, it can feed on garbage, eggs and chicks from farms, and basically anything.