var arrayFacts = [
"Playing Possum
Opossums instinctively 'playing dead' to ward off predators.
Normally, other animals will not eat a dead animal, so they 'play opossum' in self-defense.",
"A Toothy Grin:
The opossum goes into a deep sleep for up to four hours if he cannot escape from a predator.
If this doesn't work, he will hiss and show his fifty (yes, 50!) sharp teeth when threatened.",
"Petite Opossums
Opossums can produce an entire litter of eighteen babies in a mere 13 days.
The babies are so tiny at birth that an entire litter of eighteen can be held in a tablespoon.",
"A Species 'Plays Possum:'
Scientists believed that the mountain pygmy opossum became extinct thousands of years ago until some were recently discovered in Australia.
These opossums can only be found in Australia at high altitudes.",
"A Helping Hand:
Opossums use their long tails to assist them in climbing, hanging from trees, and as an emergency brake to brace themselves during a fall.
They also carry nesting materials such as grass, leaves and shredded bark curled up in their tails.",
"Roof Rat:
Brush-tail opossums are sometimes mistaken for intruders.
They have a habit of scrambling across roofs at night, disturbing the sleeping residents.
They are one of the few Australian marsupials remaining in urban areas, where they have swapped their homes in tree limbs for roof spaces and chimneys.",
"Foreign Invader:
Opossums were introduced into New Zealand in 1840, and are now considered a major pest because they are destroying native forests.",
"Loud and Leery:
Brush-tail opossums have deep, human-like coughs.
They are very vocal and may hiss, screech, cough, growl and scream to ward off intruders.",
"Watch Out For the Active Scent Gland:
Brush-tail opossums are territorial animals; males mark their territory with scent and actively defend their home range against other males.
Males with a reddish stain on their chest have an active scent gland.",
"Color Me Possum:
The brush-tail opossum can be three different colors: silver-gray, black and gold.
The very dark colored opossums inhabit denser, wetter forests than the gray.
Pure golden opossums are the result of a genetic mutation. Most golden opossums don’t survive long in the wild as they are too conspicuous to predators.",
"Opossums Pollinate:
Honey opossums play a critical role in the food chain.
Their long, slender snout fits inside flowers and their brush-like tongue and furry coats collect pollen and transfer it to other flowers and blooms.
In the process, they ensure that their own food supply is plentiful all year round.",
"Opossum Paradox:
The honey opossum has the smallest known birth weight of any mammal.
Babies weigh less than 5 mg, even though male honey opossums have sperm larger than any other male mammal, including the blue whale.",
"Survivor:
The honey opossum is not technically a opossum. It is actually the only living survivor of the tarsipedidae marsupial group.",
"Small and Sleepy:
The little pygmy is the smallest opossum, weighing about one-third of an ounce. Its body measures 2.5 inches long, and its tail is slightly longer at 2.9 inches long.
Due to their size, it is difficult for them to stay warm in colder weather, so they go into a torpid (inactive) state for a few weeks at a time to conserve energy.",
"No Need to Rush:
Studies of brush-tail opossums in Australia, found that they spent 16% of their time eating, 30% traveling or on the hunt for food, 44% immobile either lying around or sleeping, and 10% grooming.",
"Lord of the Ring:
The ring-tail opossum has a soft, high-pitched, twittering call. They are a small cat-sized animal with a silver-gray back, rusty red flanks, face, arm and legs.
As suggested by their name, when they’re not using their tail, they keep it tightly coiled in a ring.",
"Big Head, Small Body:
The ring-tail opossum weighs up to 2.4 pounds. Their head and body are both about 13 inches long!
High in the trees they are safe from predators, but on the ground must watch out for dingoes, goannas, quolls and foxes.",
"Why Opossums Fear People:
Many opossums die as a result of contact with power lines, cars and domestic animals.",
];