Rural Perspectives: Opossums called ‘Nature’s Sanitation Engineers’

by Diane Constable

The opposum eats a wide range of food, such as insects, fruit and nuts. It also will eat from bird feeders and in garbage dumps. Photo credit Diane Constable

The Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) may fluff itself up and give a frightening hiss while showing its 50 teeth, but it is all scare tactics. The opossum is harmless to humans. They are loners that live in urban and rural areas in abandoned burrows and logs throughout the eastern United States.

It is our only marsupial, a pouched mammal similar to the kangaroo. Opossum babies are born after about 14 days of gestation and are no bigger than a honeybee. They must climb up the mother’s belly and into her pouch to reach food and safety, where they continue to develop for another two to three months.

When they leave the safety of the pouch, they cling to the mother’s back for another 1.5 to two months, while they learn adult skills before striking out on their own. The opossum can have two or three litters per year.

The babies (joeys) will grow up to 22 inches long, weigh between 5-6 pounds and live about two years. They have white and gray fur that prompted the Algonquin Indians to name them “aposoum,” which means “white beast.” They do not hibernate, but in cold weather they will shelter in their burrows.

Opossums eat a wide range of food, mostly insects, including grasshoppers, beetles and crickets, and ticks. Fruits and nuts are also on the menu. Other meals may consist of the young of mice, voles and  rabbits, snakes, frogs and earthworms. They will eat from bird feeders, in garbage dumps, and carrion. They are considered “Nature’s Sanitation Engineers” because by eating rotting garbage and carrion they prevent disease.

These docile animals are equipped with few defense mechanisms. When confronted with danger, the opossum has an interesting reaction. They feign death by fainting, frothing at the mouth, and releasing a fluid that smells like carrion in order to fool any predator. It can remain in this state for hours. Unfortunately, when frightened by a vehicle, they will faint on a road. If you come across a possum that does not appear injured, and if you can do it safely, you may want to drive around or over it in case it is playing dead.

Its hairless tail is used for balance when climbing trees and, along with its ears, can become severely damaged by frostbite in a cold winter.

• Fun Fact 1: The Virigina opossum is not affected by any poisonous snake bite, and is immune from rabies.
• Fun Fact 2: Males are called jacks and females are called jills.

As an avid photographer, Diane Constable regularly puts her formal education in both nature and photography to good use. Diane also enjoys gardening and her dogs. She serves on the board of the Ann Arbor Dog Training Club and is editor of the club’s newsletter.