Regardless of my earlier post(in jest),the opossum (Algonquian for "white beast")has a unique physiology. It is immune to the venom of the American pit vipers i.e. rattlesnake,copperhead;cottonmouth and dines on them. So,for those who kill opossums for fun,may you meet with one of those creatures that the opossum would have done-in.Also,the opossum is a very valuable research tool in Alzheimer's research. For the rest-----go Google.