Playing Possum: How Animals Understand Death by Susana Monsó Brassware Authentic human skull

Authentic human skull

Papilio sataspes butterfly mounted in a black 6x6" frame

Massachusetts

These Florida horse conch shells (Triplofusus giganteus) measure about 10" in length

Playing Possum: How Animals Understand Death by Susana Monsó Brassware Authentic human skullWhen the opossum feels threatened, she becomes paralyzed. Her body temperature plummets, her breathing and heart rates drop to a minimum, and her glands simulate the smell of a putrefying corpse. Playing Possum explores what the opossum and other creatures can teach us about how we and other species understand mortality, and demonstrates that the concept of death, far from being a uniquely human attribute, is widespread in the animal kingdom. With