Opossum Covers His Mom's Face In Kisses

[catbyte]

[Vinca]

1. That's so sweet. I have a real soft spot for those particular animals.

I never realized they were that loving.

[paleotn]

2. Incredible critters, opossums...

They're immune to rabies due to their naturally high body temp. They're also world class tick destroyers.

[Duppers]

4. They truly are!

A friend advised me that they do carry a virus that's deadly to horses, however....so, they're most unwelcomed in horse country.

I saved one's life a few years ago when I had to beat our black lab off of one he had caught. Only time I've ever hit a dog & I repeatedly had to use all my force too! He was intent on killing that poor opossum!

(That Lab never took commands, at that time & he has extremely high predatory instincts, VERY unlike our sweet yellow girl.
We inherited the black guy from my mother when she died - no one else would take him!! Our sweet yellow baby was his polar opposite.)

[Buckeye_Democrat]

8. I couldn't save one from my Dad's Dalmatian.

I was initially more worried about the dog, as she stared at the hissing and big-fanged opossum's face. I kept calling her back, but she was completely focused on it. Then I started to approach to pull her away by the collar, but the opossum turned around to retreat from the dog long before I could've got there. At which point the dog grabbed it by the butt area and shook it so violently from side to side that the opossum's head eventually flew off!

Completely true story. I never imagined seeing such a thing!

Then the Dalmatian dropped the body, sniffed it for a few seconds, then trotted back toward the house like she was proud of herself.

Dad was later upset at me for not disposing of the opossum body and head (several feet away) in a garbage bag, but I left the scene untouched so he could see it with his own eyes. By then, flies were all over the body and head. That's what mostly annoyed him about it.

[tavernier]

3. Grannie Clampett says they're great

in stews!

[Duppers]

5. Oh yuck!! 😝

Growing up in Tennessee I heard that some people did eat possums but I thought that was just a myth. Just now look it up and found this:

Native Americans seem to have enjoyed eating opossum before Europeans or Africans arrived, and they introduced the animal to early colonists. William Strachey encountered the opossum in the Viriginia colony between 1607 and 1612, and his description made it clear that the animal was good to eat.

https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2019/08/a-possum-crisp-and-brown-the-opossum-and-american-foodways/

[Buckeye_Democrat]

6. I never expected that!

[IronLionZion]

7. I suppose animal adopters take tons of videos

and then submit them to the dodo. Dodo videos all have similar styles and formatting to tell the story. Good stuff

[Fla Dem]

9. Very short life spans even for domesticated Opossums

No wonder he didn't want to live in the wild. He certainly is a lover.

In the wild, these animals do not live more than 2 or 3 years. One animal has been known to live 6.6 years in captivity [0671]. Animals living on predator-free islands, live longer, start reproducing at later ages, have smaller litter sizes, and appear to age slower than their mainland counterparts [0695].

Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) longevity, ageing, and ...https://genomics.senescence.info › species › entry › specie...

[Jirel]

10. These Dodo videos make me want to barf.

Awww, it’s so cuuuuute that a stupid human imprinted yet another wild animal that had obviously no chance to ever be released.

“No rehabber could help.” Really? How hard did you try, lady? Was the problem that they needed you to bring him in, and you didn’t feel like it?

So sweeeeeeet. Every. Rehabilitation. Rule. Broken. On. Video. For. The. World. To. See.

No, saying you “really wanted” to release him while doing absolutely everything to make sure he’d be unreleasable does not get you off the hook.

The Dodo should not be encouraging people with this idiocy that harms wildlife.

[sammythecat]

12. You're being a bit of a jerk about this.

Actually, more than a bit, and maybe this particular possum will be just fine. Mother nature doesn't give a fuck about anything living in the wild but it seems this woman does care about this possum and he won't wind up smashed and rotting on the side of a road.

[Jirel]

15. Proving y'all need a dose of reality and biology.

Dodo videos like this are the equivalent of “Plandemic” for people who love animals but can’t be bothered to learn about them.

Ever had to watch a several week old bird die by inches because some ignorant do-gooder fed it a diet with insufficient calcium, and just hopping can cause it to break bones? I have. It’s not pretty.

Ever see an owl put down because its wings were broken and fused multiple times until they became a bony cloak that drags on the ground, due to dietary deficiencies after an ignorant “animal-lover” raised it rather than bringing it into a rehabilitator? I sure have.

Ever seen an “animal lover” “rescue” a young bobcat, get it completely imprinted and surviving poorly on kitty kibble, and then become too afraid to have it in the house when it gets older? I have.

The jerks are the thoughtless people who take animals out of the wild and think they’re doing them a favor, but actually screw them up. Also the ones like the dodos at The Dodo who monetize misinformation while exalting bad behavior.Cute videos glorifying the experience convince others that it’s ok and rewarding. For every cute little animal we see surviving on one of these videos, there are many more that needlessly die or are crippled due to some know-nothing do-gooder. For every one of these videos out there, you don’t see the aftermath when the animal reaches sexual maturity and the personality changes, and now it’s a problem that has to be solved - virtually always to an animal’s detriment.

[catbyte]

14. Well, I certainly don't want to make you sick so please feel free to put me on ignore.

Thank you.

[BigmanPigman]

11. There were 3 baby orphans in my back area

and my dog was so well behaved that she sat on my lap as we watched the babies eat her dog food and drink water. I didn't want them to rely on me too much but they did grow and eventually went out on their own. I have seen adult and teen-age opossums and they have a lot of pointy teeth and nails and when they hiss at you, you know they mean business.

[Laffy Kat]

13. My sister in rural north Florida bottle-fed and raised about half a dozen all at once.

They were A LOT of work, although a labor of love for her. She never let them bond and released them on her land where she hopes they are continuing to breed. There are so many ticks on her land she needs the possums.