Uploaded January 2016 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Oliver was born with his front feet bent so that he walks on his wrists. Since he would not survive in the wild he lives at a nature center as an educational opossum. To provide enrichment, we give Oliver new things to sniff and explore - the behavior he is displaying here is opossum scent marking, or "slubbing," where the opossum licks and slobbers on an object (wood, rubber or leather shoes, and paper bags seem to be favorites) and then rubs its cheek glands in it repeatedly. This is probably a way of marking territory.
Oliver was born with his front feet bent so that he walks on his wrists. Since he would not survive in the wild he lives at a nature center as an educational opossum. To provide enrichment, we give Oliver new things to sniff and explore - the behavior he is displaying here is opossum scent marking, or "slubbing," where the opossum licks and slobbers on an object (wood, rubber or leather shoes, and paper bags seem to be favorites) and then rubs its cheek glands in it repeatedly. This is probably a way of marking territory.
