Creature Countdowns
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When faced with danger, it is not usually a good idea to drop to the ground and lay motionless. Yet, this strategy seems to work reasonably well for the opossum. Called "playing possum," the animal will flop down on its side, go limp and begin to drool. Its eyes will then become glassy and motionless, and its tongue may loll out of its mouth, giving the overall effect of a dead animal. However, the opossum is not playing. This behavior is entirely involuntarily, and it is presumed to have evolved as a way to make predators lose interest in the animal, believing it to be already dead.
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