Opossum

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Physical Description - An adult opossum is about the same size as a house cat, but with much shorter legs. Total length ranges from 24-33 inches. Adults weigh from 6-15 pounds. Males are usually larger than females. The opossum has a narrow, tapered head with a pointed muzzle, pink nose, black eyes, and bluish-black ears that lack hair and look leathery. The long, scaly tail is black near the base and fades to a yellowish white or pale pink about 1/4 of the way to the tip. Both the front and hind feet have five white or pink toes. The inner toe of each hind foot is clawless and thumb-like. The dense, woolly underfur of most opossums is creamy white with grayish tips. The long outer hairs are dark gray or black. This combination gives most opossums a grizzled gray appearance. A few are almost black while others are very pale gray or nearly white.

Habitat - Wooded areas near streams provide good habitat. Farm fields mixed with patches of woods tend to support more opossums than large expanses of forest or cropland. Opossums prefer areas near permanent water like ponds, lakes, swamps, streams, and rivers. They seek shelter in the dens or nests of other animals, sheds or old buildings, cavities in rocks, brush piles, trash heaps, dry culverts, hollow trees, and fallen logs. They sometimes line their dens with leaves, grass, or corn husks.

Habits - Opossums are slow, secretive, and solitary. They venture from their dens at night to look for food, traveling distances of 1/2 to 2 miles depending on food availability and the time of year. They're observed frequently in the glare of automobile headlights as they eat other animals killed by traffic (and often suffer the same fate). Opossums tend to wander a great deal and shift their home sites frequently, but most spend their lives in an area 10-50 acres in size. The opossum does not hibernate, but may stay in its den for several days during extremely cold weather.

Tracks - The front foot or paw has soft, delicate skin and small nails. The opossum is not capable of doing a lot of digging. Opossums are sometimes seen feeding themselves with their paws.

The opposable "thumb" on the rear foot is not found on many animals. The useful anatomy allows the opossum to grasp and hold branches in a manner similar to a human hand. They also use the feet to groom themselves. The tail usually leaves a drag line in the dirt between the tracks.

Diet - Opossums are omnivorous (eat both plant and animal matter) and not very finicky. The animal portion of its diet often includes insects, dead animals, birds and their eggs, frogs, snails, and earthworms. Fruits and berries are eaten when available, especially during fall and early winter. Corn can be an important part of their diet during winter. Bird food and "leftovers" thrown out with the trash are common fare in urban areas.