The Beach Cities Sanitation Engineers

For largely being concrete (or sand) the beach cities have an amazing variety of wild life - raccoons, squirrels and possum. 

Possum look like really ugly rats.  They are not related to rats, however, but to koalas and kangaroos and are the only mammal found in the U.S. equipped with pouches to raise their young.  The female gives birth to as many as 20 babies in a litter, but they are only about the size of honeybees.   Half of them don't survive.  As the survivors mature a bit (after about three months) they grow more athletic and climb in and out at will.   

Their diet helps us all as they eat an assortment of bugs, left out pet food, dead animals aka road kill, over-ripe fruit or berries.  They are said to have a great immune system, are more resistant to rabies than other mammals and can even survive a rattlesnake's bite.  They are said to be more intelligent than dogs, but the jury is still out on that one.  They are quiet and do not bother people very much, but then again, they only live for 2 to 4 years. 

All of the above was in the newsletter sent out from Dennis Hartley, Re/Max realtors.  Of course, he wants to laud the possum!  He's trying to sell houses here, people.