Opossums

An opossum is a marsupial mammal native to the Americas. They are not to be confused with possums, which are similar critters, but have an Aussie accent. Opossums are fuzzy little four-legged rodent-like animals, and are not particularly cute or cuddly. In fact, they're downright ugly. Their coloring is usually a mixture of white, grey and brown.

Opossums are attributed with the ability of pretending to be dead, so larger predators will leave them alone. This has given rise to the phrase "playing possum". More often than not however, when you see such an animal in this particular state, they actually are dead. Opossums are one of the most often-cited examples of "roadkill" in the United States.

Appearances

 * Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The (2003): While scrounging around the Old Crawford Mill, a man named Kemper comes upon an opossum sleeping in an obscure area. The animal's presence greatly startles Kemper and his friends.

Note
The singular form of opossums, opossum, redirects to this page.