Lovely bulging eyes and tiny fingers are charming. At first glance, it may seem that we are talking about a pet, but this is a graceful opossum. (Gracilinanus sp.). She was rescued by a DNIT (National Department of Transportation Infrastructure) team in Dionisio Cerqueira, in the far west of Santa Catarina.
The opossum was safely returned to its habitat. – Photo: DNIT/Disclosure/NDThe animal was found during the work on adapting the capacity of BR-163, in the municipality. According to DNIT, a team of specialists photographed and safely relocated the opossum to an area of vegetation close to where it was discovered.
Biologist Jackson Preis explains that there are three types of opossums, and they are very similar. They can be differentiated only by analyzing the skull and dentition, that is, it is difficult to recognize the species only from a photograph.
“These are still little-studied animals. It is believed that their reproduction is associated with periods of rain,” he comments.
According to the biologist, possums are very small and, contrary to what many people think, they are not mice and do not have the characteristic teeth of rodents. “They prefer to move around at night, so they are rarely seen during the day. Some species are arboreal, that is, they live in trees.
Preis notes that they have a very interesting feature related to the type of diet. “They feed on insects, small vertebrates and fruits. They belong to the family of marsupials, animals that have a pouch in which the development of young takes place, that is, they are from the same family as opossums.
Another interesting point that the biologist pointed out is that these are animals associated with virgin forests and prefer a well-preserved environment. However, due to the loss of habitats with the destruction of forests, many individuals of the species are disappearing.
See photo:
Source: Ndmais