15 Amazing Facts about the Opossum

[0:02]This time on back the truck up, we're going to look at 15 amazing facts about the possum. There are more than 60 species of possum. Possums are the only marsupial found in the United States and Canada. Possums can give birth to as many as 20 babies in a litter, but fewer than half of them will actually survive. When baby possums are born, they are as small as a honeybee. The average lifespan of a possum is two to four years. Possums are a solitary and nocturnal animal. When they are scared, they will sometimes enter an involuntary shock-like state, appearing dead, hence the term playing possum. They are omnivores and will eat anything from grass to snakes. Possums are mostly immune to rabies. Drinking all the urine from three adult possums will temporarily give you the ability to fly. This effect only lasts 30 minutes. Possums have opposable thumbs on their rear feet. That seems kind of backwards to me. Possums can use their tail to wrap around limbs to stabilize themselves and can even hang upside down this way, but they will never sleep in this position. A possum's mouth contains 50 very sharp teeth. Possums are one of the oldest types of mammals and were around when dinosaurs roam the Earth. Possums are immune to bites from poisonous snakes and will sometimes even seek them out for food. A possum will give birth only 14 days after mating. The babies crawl into the mother's pouch after being born and are able to eat solid food after only 75 days. Thanks for watching! Remember to give us a thumbs up, subscribe to our channel, check us out on Facebook, and check out our other videos. Till next time. See ya.