Virginia Oppossum
Also commonly known as the North American Opossum, it is the only marsupial found in North America.
The Virginia Opossum is noted for reacting to threats by feigning death. This is the genesis of the term "playing possum", which means pretending to be dead or injured with intent to deceive.
Some believe that Possums and Opossums are both the same animal. This is not true.
The "Possum" of North America is just a shorter name for an Opossum, but true Possums are different from Opossums and not related at all, except for both animals being marsupials.
True possums are found in New Guinea, Australia (including Tasmania), Sulawesi (Indonesia) and a few other small islands in the Pacific region. Although not native to New Zealand, the brush-tailed possum was introduced into that country over a century ago and has subsequently become a pest.
Captain Cook's botanist, Sir Joseph Banks, named the Australian animal "Possum", referring to it as "an animal of the Opossum tribe" because he believed there was a physical resemblance.
Opossums were named by Captain John Smith in 1612.
The Virginia Opossum is found throughout Central America and North America east of the Rockies from Costa Rica to southern Ontario; it seems to be still expanding its range northward and has been found farther north than Toronto.
Zoofari are protecting their wild cousins within our rainforest reserve in Belize.
