Family: Didelphidae, Opossums view all from this family
Description House cat size. Grizzled white above; long white hairs cover black-tipped fur below. In some areas, individuals may appear grayish or blackish. Long, naked prehensile tail. Head and throat whitish; ears large, naked, black with pinkish tips. Legs short; first toe of hindfoot opposable (thumb-like) and lacks claw. Female has fur-lined abdominal pouch. L 25–40" (645–1,017 mm); T 10 1/8–21" (255–535 mm); HF 1 7/8–3 1/8" (48–80 mm); Wt 4– 14 lb (1.8–6.3 kg).
Breeding After 12–13 day gestation, 1–14 young attach themselves to mother’s nipples for 2 months; 2 or 3 litters per year.
Habitat Deciduous forests, open woods, brushy wastelands, and farmlands.
Range Most of e U.S., except n Minnesota, n Michigan, and n New England; extends southwest to e Wyoming, Colorado, and c New Mexico. Also s British Columbia south to Baja California and east into c Idaho; and se Arizona.
Discussion A solitary nocturnal animal, the Virginia Opossum is terrestrial and arboreal, and climbs well. Although it does not hibernate, during very cold weather it may hole up for several days at a time, risking frostbite on its naked ears and tail to seek food when hunger strikes. Carrion forms much of its diet, and many individuals are killed on highways while attempting to feed on roadkill. The diet also includes insects, frogs, birds, snakes, small mammals, earthworms, and berries and other fruits; persimmons, apples, and corn are favorite foods. Opossums scent-mark, especially during the breeding season, licking themselves and rubbing the sides of their heads against tree trunks or other objects. Because the penis is forked, there is a myth that this species mates through the female’s nose. The Virginia Opossum makes a leaf nest in a hollow log, fallen tree, abandoned burrow, or other sheltered place. After a gestation of less than two weeks, the "living embryos," each the size of a navy bean, climb up through the hair of the female and enter the vertical opening of her pouch. Each takes one of her 13 nipples in its mouth and remains thus attached to the mother for two months. Those who do not obtain a nipple perish. Several defensive behaviors have been described in opossums. When threatened, an individual may roll over, shut its eyes, and allow its tongue to loll, feigning death, or "playing possum," for some time. More often, it tries to bluff its attacker by hissing, screeching, salivating, opening its mouth wide to show all of its 50 teeth, and sometimes excreting a greenish substance. Many of these behaviors occur in encounters between males. Clicks, used in aggressive displays by males during mating season, are also employed in communications between mother and young. The Virginia Opossum is hunted for its fur, which is not considered particularly valuable but is used for trimming, and for its meat, which many consider a delicacy.
