259
Opossum Fact: Opossums do not eat ticks (lemmy.world)
submitted 7 months ago by to c/opossums@lemmy.world
46 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Source (a fascinating read): https://outdoor.wildlifeillinois.org/articles/debunking-the-myth-opossums-dont-eat-ticks

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [S] 81 points 7 months ago (24 children)

Just FYI, I got a lot of flak for mentioning this fact in opossum communities on social media sites. No one wants to believe that they aren’t these amazing tick-eating heroes.

I say they are still heroes and prevent a lot of disease and nastiness! They just don’t eat ticks.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • hideshow 24 child comments
    •
  • [–] 44 points 7 months ago (10 children)

    If you’re on the US west coast, Western Fence Lizards are your Lyme disease fighting heroes.

    https://daily.jstor.org/theres-something-about-lizard-blood/

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 10 child comments
    •
  • [–] 13 points 7 months ago (2 children)

    This is so amazing, my mind is blown!! Gonna share this with everybody. Also that lizard pic as if it’s laughing is perfect😁

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 6 points 7 months ago* (5 children)

    so about lizard blood. do i have to eat the lizard blood or get the lizard blood on me to become immune to limeys

    i have a fight with a british man in six hours so it's somewhat urgent

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 5 child comments
    •
  • [–] 1 point 7 months ago (2 children)

    Oh, no, that part actually means you need to have lizard ancestry. A common misconception.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 13 points 7 months ago (1 child)

    There are more social media opossum communities than this one?

    Where? I must know.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
    •
  • [–] [S] 15 points 7 months ago

    You’ll be disappointed because it’s Facebook groups and Instagram accounts. And they are starting to be overrun with AI images. So I focus on wildlife rescue accounts more since they will just post pics of animals in their care.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 5 points 7 months ago (6 children)

    they don't really live in the same environments, so concluding the the opossums ate them all was lazy

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 6 child comments
    •
  • [–] 9 points 7 months ago (3 children)

    Uh yeah they absolutely live in some of the same environments, what are you talking about? They both live in the Midwest US for sure.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
    •
  • [–] -1 points 7 months ago (2 children)

    well it's definitely situational because in Washington State they don't

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 2 points 7 months ago

    I say they are still heroes for being awesome marsupials living in North America. Not very many of those! It also doesn’t hurt that they’re super cute and rather comical in their expressions! I also don’t mind that people seem to be afraid of them, even though I know they’re harmless.

    Us humans in our warm and cozy houses and apartments forget how brutal the elements of nature can be. All that rain and snow and tempestuous wind; all that humidity and blistering heat. Nature remains a very difficult place to survive in, even when you’re an awesome marsupial well-adapted to the local conditions. Climate change, logging, construction and encroachment into habitats; we humans put even more pressure on our four-legged friends!

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent