With gray, coarse fur, a scaly tail and long snout with a pink nose, the opossum (Didelphis virginiana) is one of our more interesting mammals. According to Cornell University, early descriptions from Capt. John Smith in 1608 refer to it as “An Opassom hath an head like a Swine, and a tailee like a Rat, and is of the bignes of a Cat. Under her belly she hath a bagge, wherein she lodgeth, carrieth, and sucketh her young”.

Originally from our Southern states, it has migrated to every county in Ohio, adapting to our colder climate successfully. With a life span of 2 to 3 years, it has an excellent memory for finding and remembering food sources. Scientific studies also show a strong ability for problem solving.

According to the Ohio State University, it has changed very little from its ancestor 70 million years ago.

Opposable “thumbs” on their back feet gives them sure-footed climbing skills, and their prehensile tail provides them with balance and the ability to use it as an extra “hand” for carrying nesting material. As with all nocturnal mammals, huge pupils provide them with the ability to see clearly at night, their most active period.

The opossum is North America’s only marsupial, with the ability to carry their young in a pouch until they can become independent. Most are born in March with an average litter of nine, but five to 25 young have been observed, with one litter annually.

Two weeks before birth, they are tiny and underdeveloped. To survive, they crawl to the pouch and attach themselves to the nipple for two months, growing rapidly. The young emerge at three months, riding on their mother’s back for short periods, and will become independent within a few days to one week.

Highly adaptable, opossums are found in both the city and suburbs, but the ideal places are wooded areas, wetlands and farmland, with shelters near a water source, brush piles, tree holes and abandoned buildings. An omnivore, they consume carrion, insects, eggs, fruit and vegetables, along with fish and reptiles. Their diet also includes bones for calcium, chewing them easily with their 50 teeth!

For protection, “playing possum” is common, and they can play dead for up to several hours!

Opossums will rarely contract rabies because of their lower body temperature of 94 to 97 degrees Fahrenheit. To survive, rabies needs a mammal’s higher temperature of 97 to 103 degrees F. However, all wildlife can carry disease, usually transmitted through urine and feces. They can carry fleas, ticks, mites and lice, which can affect us and our pets. Most interestingly, they are immune to snake venom, and honeybees are also a large part of their diet.

This slow mammal helps the environment by its consumption of many unwanted insects like mosquitoes. Within our urban and suburban areas, we need to keep our yards mowed, cleaning up debris that may encourage unwanted wildlife, thus protecting ourselves, our pets and the opossum.