Virginia Opossum

Welcome to this week’s Wildlife of the Week!

Didelphis virginiana Virginia Opossum

Our Wildlife of the Week is the Virginia Opossum. Commonly just called the possum, the Virginia opossum is the only opossum species, and the only marsupial, found in the United States. As marsupials, the females carry as many as twenty young in their pouch. The babies will mature in the pouch and will leave in about three to four months. Opossums are short-lived, with a lifespan of only two years in the wild, up to four years in captivity.

They are usually solitary and will stay in one area as long as food and water are available but will search for a new range if food becomes scarce. Families will often group together in existing burrows of other animals or under structures. They are nocturnal but can be spotted hunting for insects, rodents, birds, eggs, frogs, and vegetation in wooded areas during the day.

Opossums may look threatening with bared sharp teeth but they are generally docile. When threatened they usually do not act aggressively but instead may “play possum", mimicking the appearance of death. This physiological response is involuntary (like fainting). When an opossum is "playing possum", the animal's lips are drawn back, the teeth are bared, saliva foams around the mouth and the eyes close. The stiff, curled body can be prodded, turned over, and even carried away without reaction. The animal will typically regain consciousness after a period of a few minutes.

Opossums are beneficial animals to have in our ecosystem. Did you know that a Virginia Opossum can eat up to 5,000 ticks in a single season? In fact, more than 90% of ticks that land on an opossum trying to feed end up consumed by the marsupial as they groom! And since ticks carry transmissible diseases such as Lyme disease, the less there are in your back yard, the better! Also, due to their relatively low body temperatures, it is extremely rare for an opossum to contract rabies.

The opossum in the photo was observed in White Springs.

(Photos by Tom Ress)