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Opossums eat insects, rodents, birds, eggs, frogs, plants, fruits and grain. Some species may eat the skeletal remains of rodents and roadkill animals to fulfill their calcium requirements. [ 45 ] In captivity, opossums will eat practically anything including dog and cat food, livestock fodder and discarded human food scraps and waste.
The common opossum (Didelphis marsupialis), also called the southern or black-eared opossum [2] or gambá, and sometimes called a possum, is a marsupial species living from the northeast of Mexico to Bolivia (reaching the coast of the South Pacific Ocean to the central coast of Peru), including Trinidad and Tobago and the Windwards in the Caribbean, [2] where it is called manicou. [3]
Opossums are not considered dangerous to humans. [56] Though their open-mouth hiss when frightened is often mistaken as rabid behavior, opossums are naturally resistant to rabies due to their low body temperature. Opossums can however host parasites and carry diseases such as tuberculosis, leptospirosis, and tularemia, among others. [57]
Ringtail possums prefer forests of dense brush, particularly eucalyptus forests. [5] The common ringtail possum and its relatives occupy a range of niches similar to those of lemurs, monkeys, squirrels, and bushbabies in similar forests on other continents. [6] It is less prolific and less widespread than the common brushtail possum.
Rabies is caused by lyssaviruses, including the rabies virus and Australian bat lyssavirus. [4] It is spread when an infected animal bites or scratches a human or other animals. [1] Saliva from an infected animal can also transmit rabies if the saliva comes into contact with the eyes, mouth, or nose. [1]
3D still showing rabies virus structure. Rhabdoviruses have helical symmetry, so their infectious particles are approximately cylindrical in shape. They are characterized by an extremely broad host spectrum ranging from plants [citation needed] to insects [citation needed] and mammals; human-infecting viruses more commonly have icosahedral symmetry and take shapes approximating regular polyhedra.
Lyssavirus (from the Greek λύσσα lyssa "rage, fury, rabies" and the Latin vīrus) [1] [2] is a genus of RNA viruses in the family Rhabdoviridae, order Mononegavirales. Mammals, including humans, can serve as natural hosts. [3] [4] The genus Lyssavirus includes the causative agent (rabies virus) of rabies. [5]
The disease is endemic in possums across about 38% of New Zealand (known as 'vector risk areas'). In these areas, nearly 70% of new herd infections can be traced back to possums or ferrets. The Biosecurity Act 1993 , which established a national pest management strategy, is the legislation behind control of the disease in New Zealand.