How Do You Know If A Possum Is Really Dead

It’s Part Of Their Life Cycle.

I would not recommend going right on up to the opossum with your bare hands and feeling it up. Possums are known for playing dead when facing a dangerous predator in the wilderness. Opossums are such a type of scavengers that clean up properly after having eaten their prey.

Playing Dead Is, In Fact, Not An Act For Possums.

If they are afraid, they naturally and sometimes uncontrollably enter an unconscious state, also known as playing dead. If you want, you can easily poke the animal, pick it up, or take it with you! Even wild or bobcats can become predators as many of the possums can remain at the size of a rat.

The Greatest Risk To The Life Of An Opossum Is Humans.

Perhaps the truly fascinating thing that you should know about this bluff played by the possum is that it literally seems dead: In most cases, the predator will play around with the opossum’s body for a while and leave it. But, many people get scared and kill them.

So, Possums Help You Keep The Environment Clean.

However, it depends on the shock and predator. When confronted by predators, opossums usually try to bluff their way out of danger by baring their teeth, hissing, and growling. If it is playing dead, it will actually be in a mock paralysis state, leaving it mostly safe to move.

You Will Notice The Distinctive And Pungent Smell Of Effluvium Emanating From The Animal’s Body.

An opossum playing dead may drool, let its tongue loll from its open mouths, and excrete waste to support the illusion of sudden. The problem with this is that unless you get rid of it, this smell is going to linger for a very long time, and once. A single dead branch or twig does not mean the entire tree is dead.