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The bad reputation opossums get from people does not make much sense at all. They are generally thought and spoken about as ugly, sometimes even called straight-up creepy – but all of those adjectives tend to lose their validity as soon as you actually look at one of those little animals.
Opossums are very misunderstood, for example, they are not rodents, like many people believe, but marsupials – and they are the only marsupials in North America at that! That means that, just like kangaroos, possum mothers carry their babies in their pouches and, when they are born, little opossums are perfectly tiny and hairless.
One baby opossum, now named Sesame, somehow got away from his mother a few years ago and frantically tried to find shelter. Many opossums are hit by cars because of their “play dead” defense mechanism, so time was of the essence for little Sesame. He fell into a pond and the situation looked tragic, but thankfully, Cocoa the dog miraculously pulled Sesame out from the water and brought the little marsupial back to his human Mom.
Now, Sesame has a forever home with artist Ally Burgueires in New Orleans, Louisana and has been changing stereotypes about Opposums ever since.
Sesame has thousands of admirers, with almost 60,000 fans on Facebook alone. Who wouldn’t want to see that cute little pink nose on their newsfeed?!
Sesame has a “Treat Fund” (because he really likes treats!) that is used to help other wild animals in the New Orleans area. Ally uses the fund to help with emergency vet bills, rescue transport, or any other wellness-related needs!
According to his very own website, Sesame enjoys, “travel, entertainment, art, spring rolls, Oreo cookies (on my birthday!), penguins, and inspirational quotes.” So cute!
Ally also created a book for Sesame called “Opossums Don’t Live in Houses” that shares Sesame rescue story and offers facts on how amazing these animals truly are.
Opossums are remarkable animals and it is senseless to think that they don’t deserve to have a great life just because of our strange prejudices against them. What is more, these animals have many qualities we simply overlook – like their great adaptability, strong immune system, cleverness, and they actually often help us out by eating garden pests, venomous snakes (since they are immune to their venom), and destroying ticks.
If you ever come across an injured opossum, or any other injured wildlife, please contact the nearest wildlife rehabilitation center or veterinarian. Although it can be difficult to resist the urge to help, especially in dire circumstances, rescues are best left to the trained professionals. If you’re unsure of where to start, check out this handy guide of animal rescue hotlines.
To keep up with Sesame’s adorable adventures, you can find him on both Instagram and Facebook. Trust us, you won’t be sorry!
Image source: It’s Me Sesame/Facebook
I had one as a pet. His name was Grady. He was a rescue from a mama opossum that got killed by a car so he was bottle fed. I loved him very much. Grady and i would go around to schools with kelly the parrot, and baby hedge hog for show and tell for the kids. We had great fun.