While individual mammals of all species are thought to be susceptible to rabies, some species are at an extremely low risk for contracting the disease; these include monotremes (duck-billed platypus and echidna); most rodents; insectivores (shrews, moles, hedgehogs); lagomorphs (rabbits, cottontails, hares, pikas) and marsupials (animals which raise their young in a pouch on the mother’s body) like the Virginia Opossum, the only marsupial native to North America. One hypothesis about the low incidence of rabies in this species is that the body temperature of the Virginia Opossum, at 95 degrees, may be too low to sustain the virus under most circumstances. However, typical defensive behavior among these unusual mammals includes a bluff routine of hissing, drooling, swaying and baring their rather impressive teeth, all intended to scare away potential predators. This behavior can resemble that of a rabid animal and is probably the reason people believe they have seen “rabid opossums.” And, of course, when all else fails, “playing ‘possum” convinces many predators (including some humans) that the opossum has died, and thus is just not worth the effort of an attack!
Posted on: Mon, 16 Sep 2013 23:07:29 +0000
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