Vicious, indeed! Sadly, during particularly cold periods, helpful Virginia opossums start turning up in wildlife shelters or end up dead. Their naked tails, ears and paws are susceptible to the ...

With its rat-like tail and hairless ears, the humble opossum doesn’t get a lot of respect. But North America’s only native marsupial, or pouched animal, plays a valuable role in nature.

That's probably because their fur-less tails and ears are prone to frostbite, which can be deadly. "Unlike most other wildlife species, opossums have learned not only to survive all of the massive ...