I though possums were supposed to play dead when faced with danger? Well, I guess this little guy missed the memo. Watch as he is completely unaware, then unfazed as this possum foolishly stands its ground against a panther.
Possum Stands Its Ground Against A Panther
I tell you one thing, this possum is braver than me. If a panther snuck up on me at night I would be freaking out. However, I don't know for certain if it is bravery that made this possum stand against the panther. As the video begins, the camera shows a possum, happily minding its own business. It appears to be happily munching on something in the grass as the panther slowly stalks up behind it.
The panther gets quite close to the marsupial but still, the little guy pays the panther no mind. Even the panther seems surprised as it stands behind the possum, staring in disbelief at is oblivious nature. After several minutes, the possum finally notices the large cat. At this point, the panther is sitting. I imagine it got tired of waiting to be noticed.
Now it was a clear tense moment. As the possum approached the panther it bared its teeth at the giant jungle cat. In return, the panther showed its menacing teeth along with a hiss as well. While the marsupial may have stood its ground before, it knew better than to challenge the panther now. I guess those teeth were enough to show him that in the case of possum against panther, the possum would lose every time.
After the encounter, the possum wanders off — rather slowly in my opinion— and the panther too goes on its way. That is one lucky little possum. Although they are not a panther's main source of protein, the large cat is known to feast on the marsupial from time to time. However, it seems like this one didn't think it was worth the trouble.
