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The opossum, often called possum, is the only marsupial found north of Mexico. Marsupials are distinguished by their unique mode of reproduction; the young are born in an almost embryonic form and make their way to the pouch in their mother’s abdomen, where they are nourished for what in other mammals would be most of the gestational period.

Although it looks like a big rat, the opossum is related to the kangaroo and koala. It has long guard hairs that give their fur a coarse appearance. Their coat color varies from very light to almost black, but usually looks gray. They have naked ears and a long, almost hairless, prehensile tail, which is capable of grasping and holding objects. While the tail might support the opossum’s full weight for brief periods, the animal usually uses at least one foot as well as the tail when dangling from a limb.

Opossums are omnivorous and will consume just about everything that’s edible including dead animals. They rarely raid garbage cans, chicken coops or gardens. They are most active at night, and they have a habit of ceaselessly moving along the ground in search of food. They are known as “Nature’s Little Sanitation Engineers”. Adult males may wander continuously, females spend their lives in more defined areas, but still move around almost randomly. Opossums seen in yards are likely to move on without human encouragement if given enough time.

Opossums may breed twice a year and give birth to as many as 12 young. They are so small that 10 can fit in a teaspoon. Young emerge from their mother’s pouch at about 1-2 months, then ride on their mother’s back. They become independent at about 3 months. Excellent climbers, opossums may take shelter by day in tree dens, old squirrel nests, or nests they’ve built themselves above ground. They can also make home under decks or patios and in wood and brush piles.

Opossums are exceptionally non-aggressive and non-destructive. When confronted, they will sometimes display their 50 sharp pointed teeth and may even hiss. Rather than fight, they will sometimes slip into a state of apparent death-hence the term “playing possum”. This state of catatonia can last a minute or two, or even as long as 2 hours, before the “dead” possum revives and moves on.

Opossums lived during the time of the dinosaurs and one reason for their continued survival is their ability to eat nearly everything. Although slow moving, they are by no means stupid. Results from some learning and discrimination tests rand opossums above dogs and on a par with pigs in intelligence.

Oppossums

Characteristics

The Virginia opossum is North America's only marsupial. A marsupial is an animal with a pouch, like a kangaroo or a koala. The opossum has been around for at least 70 million years and is one of Earth's oldest surviving mammals!

The opossum is about the size of a large house cat. It has a triangular head and a long pointed nose. It has grayish fur everywhere but on its ears, feet and tail. Its tail is prehensile. A prehensile tail is adapted for grasping and wrapping around things like tree limbs. The opossum can hang from its tail for a short time. Some people think opossums hang from their tails and sleep. They don't. Their tails aren't strong enough to hold them for that long!

The opossum has opposable hallux. A hallux is like a thumb. The opossum's " thumbs" are on its rear feet. The hallux helps it grasp branches when it climbs.

The opossum doesn't hibernate in the winter. It will often hole up during very cold weather because it runs the risk of getting frostbite on its hairless ears, tail and toes.

Range

The Virginia opossum can be found in most of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains and on the West Coast. It is also found in Mexico, Central America and in British Columbia, Canada.

Habitat

The Virginia opossum lives in a wide-variety of habitats including deciduous forests, open woods and farmland. It tends to prefer wet areas like marshes, swamps and streams.

Diet

Life Cycle

An Virginia opossum female may have as many as 25 babies, but she usually will have between seven to eight. The reason opossums have so many babies to insure that some of them survive. Like most marsupials, opossums are very small when they are born - about the size of a navy bean.

The babies climb up the mother's fur and into her pouch where they find a teat. Some babies will not find their way to the pouch and will die. If they make it to the pouch, only babies who find one of the thirteen teats will survive. They will stay in the pouch and suckle for 55-60 days. Then they will move out of the pouch and spend another four to six weeks on their mother's back. In some parts of their range, females will have three litters a year.

Behavior

The Virginia opossum has many behavioral adaptations it uses to survive. When threatened, it will exhibit behaviors like running, growling, belching, urinating and even defecating. Sometimes it will " play 'possum." and roll over, become stiff, drool, and its breathing will become slow and shallow. This coma-like state can last up to four hours Some predators will think the opossum is dead and go away!

The name 'opossum' was first used in western culture by Captain John Smith in 1608. It comes from the Algonquin name 'apasum', which means 'white animal.'

The Virginia opossum is nocturnal and uses its keen sense of smell to locate food. It is omnivorous and eats just about anything, including lots of different plants and animals like fruits, insects, and other small animals. Sometimes, it eats garbage and carrion. Carrion is dead animals. Because so much carrion is roadkill, opossums are often killed by cars while looking for food on roadways.

To have opossums removed and the damage repaired