Virginia Opossum -----------
It was time to go down south today. I haven’t been in the Green Island Wetlands for quite some time and understandably during the winter the expectations to see a lot of wildlife are on a lower level. I enjoyed being away from the “cabin” and just wanted to get a feeling for the landscape again. To my surprise I found some critters and one of them was this Virginia Opossum. This solitary and mostly nocturnal animal is the only marsupial found north of Mexico.
This possum was in search for food between the dry reeds and along the iced over canals in Green Island. They are opportunists and eat a wide range of plants and animals. Opossums are very resistant to rabies, most likely due to a low body temperature. They also limit the spread of lyme disease, as they successfully kill off most disease-carrying ticks that feed on them (source: Wikipedia). I wish the deer would do the same...😏
My photo library shows that the last time I had a Virginia Opossum in front of the camera was already nine years ago. With other words, it was about time to make a few clicks of this actually not so uncommon critter.