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The bushy-tailed opossum (Glironia venusta) is an opossum from South America. It was first described by English zoologist Oldfield Thomas in 1912. It is a medium-sized opossum characterized by a large, oval, dark ears, fawn to cinnamon coat with a buff to gray underside, grayish limbs, and a furry tail.
Even so, they are relatively small animals, with the largest being cat-sized, and they weigh between 200 grams and 2 kilograms. They have grasping hands and feet with opposable first toes on their hindfeet, and, in all species save the greater glider, a prehensile tail. They are nocturnal, with large eyes. [3]
Their tails are only semi-prehensile, unlike the fully prehensile tail characteristic of the North American opossum. [3] The fur is greyish brown over almost the entire body, although fading to a paler shade on the underparts, and with near-white fur on the feet. Only the base of the tail has fur, the remainder being almost entirely hairless. [5]
[7] [8] Brushtail possums can live up to 13 years in the wild. [7] [8] Female young have a higher survival rate than their male counterparts due to establishing their home ranges closer to their mothers, while males travel farther in search of new nesting sites, encountering established territories from which they may be forcibly ejected.
Opossums don't look inviting but their benefits far outweigh their appearance, especially if there are dead trees in your woodlands. Opossums are nature's providers: Gentle marsupials don't get ...
Common ringtail possums live a gregarious lifestyle which centres on their communal nests, also called dreys. [18] Ringtail possums build nests from tree branches and occasionally use tree hollows. A communal nest is made up of an adult female and an adult male, their dependant offspring and immature offspring of the previous year. [8]
The tail measures 4 to 6 centimetres (1.6 to 2.4 in). They weigh around 17 to 30 grams (0.60 to 1.06 oz). They have a conspicuous reddish head and brown rump and back. The chin, throat, groin and flanks are grayish-brown. There is a distinct central white streak on the chest and abdomen. Their paws are covered with short, light-brown hairs.
A litter of baby opossums lost their mom but the Newhouse Wildlife Rescue team came up with an adorable way to comfort them Image credits: Newhouse Wildlife Rescue / Facebook