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Transcript: "The Virginia Opossum also known as the North American Opossum is the only marsupial in North America. Marsupials have pouches for carrying their young through early infancy. Baby opossums live in these pouches for 2-3 months and then ride on their mothers backs for an additional month or two. This is a huge portion of their life, considering that opossums have an average life span of only two years in the wild. Opossums are slow, solitary, nocturnal animals and prefer to be left alone. When threatened they will hiss and bear their teeth, but under extreme circumstances they will play dead. Playing Possum serves two purposes it discourages predators that only eat live prey and it convinces some larger animals that they are not a threat to their young. Virginia Opossums are the largest Opossums in the world. They are 15-20 inches long and weigh 9 to 13 lbs about the size of a domestic cat. They have clawless thumbs on their hind feet and hairless prehensile tails that can grab objects and help them to balance when they are climbing."

Animal Facts - Opossum - English