Opossums - Friend Or Foe?

I never knew much about opossums. I just always saw them as a big ball of fur with a rat tail. I thought they were creatures that had rabies and would bite without being provoked. It turns out that couldn't be further from the truth.

Meet The Opossum!

Opossums are one of the least aggressive animals on the planet. This white creature is about the size of a cat and is the only marsupial in North America. A close relative to the opossum would be the kangaroo.

The gestation period of an opossum is only about 13 days during springtime. A newborn opossum will be the size of an acorn. One of an opossum's babies most distinguished characteristics is that it is born blind but will be able to crawl from the mother's birth canal to her pouch due to the fact that it's legs are long enough to move. The average litter has about 15 joeys. A small percentage of them will live to survive through the sumer.

Their long rat-like tail helps them to climb trees and possibly hang when hiding. However, they do not sleep upside down as many have believed.

Opossum Myths

There are many misconceptions about the opossum. They are one of the animals who are least likely to transmit rabies. They have a low body temperature which keeps them from transmitting diseases. Another misconception is that they are aggressive. On the contrary, they will not bite unless provoked. They just want to be left alone.

Possums are known to play dead. However, this is an involuntary action that protects them and not a conscious action. Opossums are friendly animals in general who are omnivores at heart. They will eat insects, roadkill, cat food and dog food. These smart animals are peace loving and completely docile towards dogs. They are even better at protecting gardens from unsightly insects.

All in all, the opossum is one of the oldest living animals in history. If you happen to encounter one on a dark night, don't be fearful of them. They are no more harmful than a squirrel or a cat.

Let's Discuss!

Have you ever had an unusual experience with an opossum?

It's All Related!

Prey Of The Dog: Down Under
Prey Of The Dog: New Zealand
Canines in Conservation

Canines in Conservation

Photo: Center For Conservation Biology

Scat dogs are integral to learning and helping to save endangered animals such as the Orca whale. By sniffing the scat of these animals, they can non-invasively monitor the patterns of different animals. It tells of environmental changes and helps indicate any disease or other factors that affect these breeds. Scat detection can determine the sex, stress, system incompetence and reproductive health.

What Makes A Great Scat Detection Dog

Dogs who have a high play drive are ideal for this type of work. They will live for a game of fetch or romp and play. It's much different than a dog who has a high prey drive. Usually, dogs for this have such a high sense of adventure, they aren't good family pets and wind up in a shelter.

The Center of Conservation Biology is a non-profit organization that conducts studies to see how humans have impacted these animals and how they are faring in their survival over a vast geographical area.

Affiliated with the University of Washington, they are based on a 4,300 acre area of land, it has a state of the art training center in operation for the eleven dogs currently working on their team. They also offer permanent housing for the dogs and their handlers.

Each dog is trained in identifying the scat of different species such as Wolverine, Cougar, Grizzly Bears, Sea Turtle nests, Northern Spotted Owls and Midland caribou, just to name a few. They each have their specialties and travel around the world to do their research. After 8 to 9 years, most dogs retire and live in a place with their handler where they can enjoy their retirement.

Let's Discuss!

How have scat detection dogs helped the wildlife in your neck of the woods?

It's All Related

Prey of the Dog: Down Under
Prey of the Dog: New Zealand

When Your Puppy Is Too Peppy

Prey Of The Dog: New Zealand

Photo: Evan Goldenberg

New Zealand is two islands in close proximity that have Polynesian origins. It is shared by both the Maori (it's native inhabitants) and the Western European settlers who inhabit it today. It was initially settled in 1642 by Abel Janszoon Tasman from Holland. They had several battles and conflicts with the indigenous people and in 1840, it became an official English colony. Today it is an independent nation in the British commonwealth. Its size is larger than Great Britain and smaller than Australia.

New Zealand is mainly known for its birds and reptiles and has very few species of mammals. As much as dogs have been domesticated, there is always a small part of them that is in touch with their wild side. This can be troubling to certain animals of the Kiwi Island. Most animals who fall into this category are birds and reptiles. Most dogs won't attack. But there are times when one wanders away that the inevitable happens. Below is a list of animals who can be prey.

Birds

• Blue Duck
  
  The Blue Duck, also known as the Whio, is an endangered species. It is found on the northern and southern islands. It's roughly 21 inches (53 cm) in size. It has a dove gray color with a hint of blue. Its chest is brown spotted and its feet are dark brown. Females have fewer spots and ducklings have none. They feed on invertebrate snails and larva. They must watch out for feral dogs and cats, as well as, hunting dogs, rats, falcons, hawks and eels.
  
• Brown Teal
  
  The Brown Teal is severely endangered in New Zealand. Today, there are fewer than 1,500 of these birds in existence. They are found along the Great Barrier Island and in Northland. They are extremely territorial — especially during mating season — and will kill their own kind to protect that territory. These nocturnal ducks are known for laying in the grass during the day and swimming at night. A big reason for that it's nocturnal was in response to protecting itself against aerial grabs from large birds such as the Australasian Harrier. Other predators include dogs, cats, stoats and ferrets It is 19 inches large (48 cm) and is known for its distinctive brown coloring.
  

  Photo: Sabine's Sunbird

• Great Spotted Kiwi
  
  The Great Spotted Kiwi is one of the few birds on this island with the inability to fly. Known to inhabit the northwest corner South Island, this bird is in gradual decline. It's a large bird that only lays one egg at a time. Both parents nest the egg during the 2.5 to 3 month incubation period. They are extremely territorial as to protect their egg. Its appearance is known for having a mottled appearance. Predators of this national treasure include the ferrets, stoats, hunting dogs and wild dogs.
  
• Kakapo (Owl Parrot)
  
  The Kakapo is the world's heaviest parrot weighing 8 pounds (3 kg). They have soft moss green and black feathers on their back, combined with yellow-green feathers near their face and underside. It is the only parrot that doesn't fly and is a nocturnal bird. They along with the kereru are the only plant-eating birds. They live in the Fjiordland and Stewart Island. With only 62 of these creatures currently in existence, they have been relocated to predator-free areas. The birds never experience any predators before the Europeans settled. With the settlers came the addition of cats, rats and dogs. Also, the Maori, valued their skins and feathers. In 1952, the rush to conserve the species started and they have been working hard to make sure there was an abundant supply of food in order for them to breed.
  

  Photo: MNolf

• Little Spotted Kiwi
  
  The Little Spotted Kiwi is the smalled of all New Zealand's kiwi birds. It weighs 2.5 to 4 pounds (1.2 - 2 kg) and is 16 inches (40 cm) large. Once they lived throughout New Zealand, now, they are down to 1,200 and can be found on Kapiti Island. They live in the forest beneath deep vegetation or under the roots of trees. Predators of this bird include ferrets, stoats, feral and hunting dogs.
• New Zealand Dotterel
  
  The New Zealand Dotterell lives on both the North Island and South Island with the majority of the 1700 birds living in North Island. Around 60 live in South Island which decreased dramatically due to the influx of feral cats. Other predators such as dogs and hedgehogs have put them on the endangered species list. They are about 11 inches (25 cm) in size with a mottled gray top and a light brown underbelly.

  Photo:
  Chris Gin

• North Island Kiwi
  
  Like their Kiwi counterparts in other parts of New Zealand, this breed finds itself as prey of dogs, ferrets and stoats. This is also one breed of birds where the female tends to be larger than the male and tends to weigh 3 to 6.5 pounds (1.5 to 3 kg). The average size is 20 inches (50 cm). Their coloring varies from brown and gray to black brown to reddish brown. Some even have white feathers. They will burrow themselves under dense vegetation or hide in hollow logs in the areas of e North Island, Little Barrier Island, Kapiti Island. They were arecently reintroduced into several forests south of Palmerston North.

  Photo: Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust

• North Island Weka
  
  The North Island Weka lives on various offshore islands as well as, the Bay Islands and the Bay of Plenty. It's a flightless bird with a large mandible and strong feet. Its coloring is a combination of brown, black and gray. It weighs between 1.5 to 2.5 pounds (700 grams - 1.2 kg). Females tend to weigh less. They are omnivores and will eat anything like, invertebrates, snakes, snails, eggs, birds and rabbits. They are equally territorial as well. Females will kill immature males if they feel threatened. Predators of this bird include stoats, ferrets, cats and dogs.

  Photo: Gail Garber

• Tuatara
  
  The tuatara looks like a lizard, but is actually a rare type of reptile called the Sphenodon which translates to "wedged tooth". There are only two types of this species left. The tuatara can live up to 100 years. They are about 20 to 31 inches long (50 to 80 cm). They are known for their olive green coloring and their spiny back. Other tuatara may be colored dark pink or light gray. It is a good swimmer and nocturnal. They eat mostly insects and will occasionally eat smaller animals. It has to watch out for dogs, ferrets, rats, cats, stoats and possums. Due to deforestation in New Zealand, very few tuatara can be found on the mainland anymore. Protected since 1895, this animal resides in predator-free areas of offshore islands around New Zealand.
  

Let's Discuss!

Which animal of prey is most fascinating to you?

It's All Related!

Prey Of The Dog: Down Under
Why Dogs Love To Chase Moving Objects

Horses, Rabbits, and Skunks, Oh My!

Group Of Walkers at Walk For Love

Saturday

As you know, I'm always trying to find new activities to keep Homer at his peak performance. It turned out that Heartland Animal Shelter had a special event for walkers and runners. It was called the Walk Of Love - 9Ks for K9s. Runners would participate in the 9K run and walkers like myself would do the 2 mile (3.2km) walk.

I decided to do the walk with just Gigi and Homer. I had Cookie stay at home because it's been really humid lately and the humidity had been making her limp quite a bit. It rained the night before and the humidity really hadn't lightened up very much. Homer and Gigi on the other, hand were thrilled to have a workout session like this.

It wasn't too sunny and parts of the forest preserve had quite a few wet spots. I was able to avoid most of them and the dogs were ready for anything. It was a tranquil walk. Since we had started a little later than the others, we saw most of the walkers with their dogs on their way back. The trees lined the path and really brought me back to the simplicity of nature. Because of the rain, the walk was shortened slightly but it was still a great way to start the day. I even ran into two horses that both Gigi and Homer were wanting to chase. In a couple moments, the horses were a distant memory.

Horses Off In The Distance

The finish line had breakfast from Whole Foods as they had sponsored the fundraiser. There was a photographer taking pictures of the walkers. There was even a pet psychic but since there was a line, I didn't want to wait. After a hectic morning, both Homer and Gigi had a relaxing day sleeping.

Sunday

This was a typical day spent with the dogs. I could tell that the temperature was rising. Taking the dogs for their usual walk, Homer's leash slipped off of my wrist and took off running. I followed with Cookie and Gigi trekking behind me. He ran about six houses down the block. I almost was able to grab him and then he took off into the backyard and through the bushes. I heard a woman say "Excuse Me" and just as I told her that it was my dog and I was about to squeeze through the bushes, Homer bounded back hot on the trail of a rabbit. I quickly grabbed him and had him say goodbye to the rabbit. After that, the walk finished smoothly.

The real fun began when my mom let Homer out for a couple of minutes before bedtime. Homer's nose found its way right to the skunk who was visiting our backyard. Sure enough, he got sprayed right in the face. He came in the house and the smell was potent. I had to put him back outside and put together a mixture to remove the smell. I made two batches of the hydrogen peroxide mixture. Homer got it pretty bad in the face, and was very sensitive the the mixture. I've found that pouring it on worked best.

After toweling him off, using the air freshener and cleaning the floors with white vinegar, it was about 12:30 in the morning. Homer was still a little shaken trying to rub his face on the carpeting so I gave him his favorite Kong Bone stuffed with string cheese to distract him. I am happy to report it did. After everything that happened, we were all exhausted after the whole incident.

Let's Discuss!

Have you had a day where your pets ran into a variety of other animals? What do you do when your dogs get sprayed by a skunk?

Related Posts

Hogs For Dogs
Oh No! My Dog Got Skunked!