Possums aren’t natural fighters, but they have skills to survive. To avoid confrontation, they pretend to be dead by “fainting” and stiffening their bodies so predators lose interest. They even secrete foul-smelling fluids that make predators think they are decomposing. For many predators, the chase (prey drive) itself stimulates their appetite. So the clever possum plays dead in the hopes that dogs and other predators leave them alone.