{"id":9544,"date":"2017-07-31T11:56:16","date_gmt":"2017-07-31T15:56:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/?p=9544"},"modified":"2017-08-17T10:58:18","modified_gmt":"2017-08-17T14:58:18","slug":"take-5-awesome-opossums","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-awesome-opossums\/","title":{"rendered":"Take 5: Awesome Opossums"},"content":{"rendered":"

Opossums may sometimes look fierce and unlovely (especially when “playing dead” to deter predators), but they’re actually very clean, non-destructive animals that tend to keep to themselves.<\/p>\n

And even better, they LOVE ticks. As they wander the forest, they pick up ticks like most mammals do. But their excellent grooming habits, strong immune systems, and affinity for munching on the disease-prone parasites allow them to kill more than 95% of the ticks that try to feed on them.\u00a0By some accounts, up to\u00a0thousands<\/em> per week!<\/p>\n

To show our appreciation for opossums’ important role in protecting our health, take a look at five opossum photos from our Picture This: Your Great Outdoors Photo Contest<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Have a great wildlife shot of your own? Enter the 2017 Photo Contest today<\/a>!<\/p>\n

\"Virginia

Virginia Opossum \u00a9 Simeon Wood<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Virginia

Virginia Opossum \u00a9 Laurene Cogswell<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Virginia

Virginia Opossum \u00a9 Paul Silvestri<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Virginia

Virginia Opossum \u00a9 Chris Lang<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Virginia

Virginia Opossum \u00a9 Jacqui_McGee<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Opossums may sometimes look fierce and unlovely (especially when “playing dead” to deter predators), but they’re actually very clean, non-destructive animals that tend to keep to themselves. And even better, they LOVE ticks. As they wander the forest, they pick up ticks like most mammals do. But their excellent grooming habits, strong immune systems, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":9556,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[158],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-take-5"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/07\/171Simeon_Wood11377FI.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3t87A-2tW","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":16455,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-misunderstood-wildlife\/","url_meta":{"origin":9544,"position":0},"title":"Take 5: Misunderstood Wildlife","author":"Ryan D.","date":"October 18, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Over the years, some wildlife has developed a \"bad reputation\". The reasons for this can vary\u2014some animals, like opossums and ravens, display behaviors and self-defense techniques that can look scary or off-putting to the human eye, while others, such as bats, are maligned by old folklore and mythology. Sometimes, a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Take 5"","block_context":{"text":"Take 5","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/take-5\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Virginia Opossums \u00a9 Scott Eggimann","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/10\/4263Scott_Eggimann20335-3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/10\/4263Scott_Eggimann20335-3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/10\/4263Scott_Eggimann20335-3.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/10\/4263Scott_Eggimann20335-3.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":334,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/ticks-in-fall\/","url_meta":{"origin":9544,"position":1},"title":"Ticks in Fall","author":"Heather","date":"October 1, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Now that summer is over you can stop worrying about ticks, right? Think again. While summer in New England is a prime time to spot deer ticks (the chief culprits of Lyme disease\u2014a potentially serious bacterial infection), many don't realize that they can still pose a serious threat in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/nature-notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2012\/07\/534px-Adult_deer_tick_wikimediacommons.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2012\/07\/534px-Adult_deer_tick_wikimediacommons.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2012\/07\/534px-Adult_deer_tick_wikimediacommons.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2489,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/tick-check-check\/","url_meta":{"origin":9544,"position":2},"title":"Tick Check? Check","author":"Hillary T.","date":"July 24, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"It's been a hot sticky summer so far. This may not be ideal whether for us humans, but the ticks are loving it. And if there\u2019s one thing you don\u2019t want to bring home with you after a trip outdoors, it\u2019s a deer tick. This pesky insect thrives in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/nature-notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Deer Tick","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2012\/07\/534px-Adult_deer_tick_wikimediacommons.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7931,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/mass-audubon-pokemon\/","url_meta":{"origin":9544,"position":3},"title":"Mass Audubon & Pok\u00e9mon","author":"Hillary T.","date":"July 13, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"It seems like Pok\u00e9mon love Mass Audubon wildlife sanctuaries as much as we do! We're delighted to see new faces exploring our wildlife sanctuaries. Just a friendly reminder for players to be safe and smart while visiting: Stay on the trails (even if the game attempts to lure you off\u2014Pok\u00e9mon\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Get Outdoors"","block_context":{"text":"Get Outdoors","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/get-outdoors\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/07\/Poke.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/07\/Poke.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/07\/Poke.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/07\/Poke.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14334,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/climate-action-benefits-health\/","url_meta":{"origin":9544,"position":4},"title":"Climate Action Benefits our Health","author":"Rishya N.","date":"July 1, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"We can see climate change\u2019s impacts on the health of our world all around us, right here in Massachusetts. Our friends, families, and neighbors have to adapt (just like wildlife and plants) to new and heightened threats \u2013 and one of those is a threat to public health. Climate change's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Climate"","block_context":{"text":"Climate","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/climate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/06\/Scott-Bauer-USDA-Flickr-Adult-Deer-Tick.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/06\/Scott-Bauer-USDA-Flickr-Adult-Deer-Tick.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/06\/Scott-Bauer-USDA-Flickr-Adult-Deer-Tick.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/06\/Scott-Bauer-USDA-Flickr-Adult-Deer-Tick.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1115,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/before-you-pick-up-that-rake\/","url_meta":{"origin":9544,"position":5},"title":"Before You Pick Up That Rake","author":"Hillary T.","date":"October 23, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Oh, leaves. There\u2019s so much we love about you. The first sight of your flowers in the spring; the sound you make when you blow in the breeze during summer; your brilliant shades of red, yellow, and orange come fall. 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