I live in the US, where this marsupial critter is abundant across the country, east to west.
Here's one of the cuter pictures of an adolescent I found on the Net:
On a couple of my trips to my mother's in Southern California, I've had various encounters with them at night out in back, on their patio, where the possums forage for peanuts or cat food left about.
They have quite a set of teeth, which they bare when threatened, but as I used to hang out with a group of raccoons once upon a time, I can tell you that the possum-teeth maneuvers are all talk and no action. If they are
really threatened, they have the "play dead" response up their sleeve.
I mean, can this critter really be aggressive?
(She carries her young on her back after they leave the pouch.)
At any rate, there are 2 youngsters/adolescents frolicking through the backyard at night lately here. I caught one of them sitting in the peanut tray, and got close enough to fire off the folks' camera (will be interesting to see if the shutter ever really opened for the pic).
And then, sitting out there a couple of nights ago (because the heat is oppressively overwhelming in the house), I was quietly taking things in out there, at the table, listening to the waterfall in the little pond, and after about 5 minutes one of the young possums lifts up his head over the roll of barley which had been obstructing my view of him. He had been there the whole time, apparently! He looked across the table, into my face, as calmly as were we sharing a bottle of chianti. I actually expected him to speak.
What does this mean? Nothing in particular that I can see at this time, except that I find a small comfort in knowing that, wherever I end up, there will always be friends to be made.
~v
