But why is the possum the only marsupial to survive in North America? Three reasons: First, it can pretend to be a fierce little fighter. This bluff often works to scare away enemies. Second, it has claws and a prehensile tail for easy climbing into trees. A prehensile tail is one that allows the possum to grab a tree branch and hold on with its tail alone. Most animals just use their tails for balance, or to shoo away flies.
What other North American animals have prehensile tails?
 None.
But the third reason is the most amazing - they play dead. In fact, we say that somebody is playing "possum" when they're playing dead. It is thought that the opossum actually goes into a deep sleep, so that even if an animal bites it, the opossum does not react at all. A great many predators do not eat dead animals, so they just walk away. Female bears, who mainly eat vegetation and fish, may attack an animal to protect her cubs, but as soon as the animal is out of action, the bear also walks away.
So with these three attributes, the opossum is the only marsupial to survive in North America. And it looks like the future for opossums in America is very good.
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