How you can identify the tracks made by opossum

An opossum is also called a marsupial. It is known because of its pouch that it uses to carry its young babies. A female is called jill and the young one is known as joey. Its head has a primitive, small brain as well as a narrow muzzle that ends with a pink nose and a jaw that has over 50 teeth.

Features of opossum feet

Its front feet have five clawed toes, and the hind feet have four different clawed toes and a thumb which is at the opposite side. The grasping, naked and prehensile tail can be used in climbing. It gives birth during the summer and spring. Younger ones, once they leave the mother’s pouch, will start riding on the back of the mother. An opossum can live a solitary and secretive life. It can wander starting from dusk until dawn if it is looking for food, or it can spend its daytime sleeping in a hollow log or in a brush pile. If it is threatened, an opossum can grow, hiss, bite or climb a tree. Sometime it also feigns its death.

How to know an opossum footprint

An opossum has five bulbous toes at its front foot, and they are splayed out in the tracks like the rays from the sun. Its toes are equal lengths. The rear foot has four fingers and the thumb is at the opposing side, which points toward its body. The thumb is very visible within the tracks.

Opossum’s gait

On the left or right side, the track has free space that is found on the first, second and the third digit in comparison to the 3rd, 4th and 5th digit. When it comes to the gait, it may be a slow walk or it may look like a trot that comes with the stride that is over 9 inches. This is going to register in the track but not that significantly.

What else you should learn about an opossum

Opossums can be found in the shrub-lands, woodlands, croplands and urban backyards. It is an omnivore and it will eat different things, and this includes crayfish, frogs, snakes, mammals, birds and eggs. If you want to track the opossum, you should look for its trails, feeding signs, beds, scent markings, tracks and scat.

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