I hand raised 2 baby opossums a few years ago (their mother was hit by a car) and this is a picture of one of them as an adult. She's looking up at my little sister Sarah. A lot of people give opossums a bad reputation, but the truth is they generally leave people alone. An opossum has to act tough and hiss when confronted because they can't run very quickly and they know it. The 2 I raised were as gentle and friendly as housecats (and just as clean, too). Now, I realize you can't judge all opossums by the activities of a couple of hand reared ones, and I'm not doing that. I have a degree in Wildlife Conservation and Management, so I've studied a lot of different animals and plants, especially those found in Missouri. I've had several encounters with wild opossums as well, and I can tell you that their "ferocity" is greatly exaggerated. An opossum fights only when it has to, and when threatened they often just pass out. Opossums don't really have much control over their ability to "play dead". They actually faint. My opossums did it a few times when they were babies and a loud noise frightened them. It was pretty funny. Just the same, I don't recommend messing with wild opossums. All animals will prepare to defend themselves if they feel they are in danger.