North America's Native Marsupial

The Virginia Opossum is the only marsupial native to North America. A marsupial is an animal with a short gestation period that gives birth to pre-mature babies who continue developing in the mother's pouch. They do not have placentas. The opossum's name is derived from the Algonquin word 'apasum', which means 'white animal.' The name 'opossum' was first used by Captain John Smith in 1608.Colloquially, it is also called "possum," but should not be confused with the Australian Possum.

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Opossums grow to be about the size of a cat and as an adult may weigh between 6-12 pounds. The fur can vary from dark grey to light grey in color with white fur on the face. They have an opposable, clawless thumbs called a hallux, on their back legs. The long, hairless, prehensile tail is used to grab branches and carry objects. It is a myth that the possum can hang for long periods of time by their tails. An adult is too heavy for its tail to support the animal for more than a few minutes. However, the tail is used to help steady an opossum while climbing. The possum has hairless ears, a long nose and a mouth filled with 50 teeth, more than any other mammal. Due to the risk of frostbite on their ears, tail and toes, the possums will often hole up in a warm burrow for a few days during extremely cold weather, but they do not hibernate during the winter.

The opossum is nocturnal and uses it excellent sense of smell to locate food. Being omnivorous, the possum eats a variety of plants, fruits, small animals, reptiles, insects, garbage, pet food and carrion. It lives in a wide variety of habitats and especially likes marshes, swamps and streams, but is also found in forests, farmlands and suburban backyards.

In the wild, the Virginia Opossum has a short life span of about 2 years. The gestation period for the possum is only 13 days. The female can give birth to as many as 20 offspring though an average liter size is 6-10 babies. At birth, the baby possum is the size of a raisin and weighs less than a gram. It will climb to the mother's pouch and swallow a nipple. The female has 13 nipples, which are arranged in a circle of twelve with one in the middle. The babies will stay in the pouch for 55-60 days. At 2 months of age, the baby opossum is developmentally equal to a newborn placental mammal. At this point, the fur has emerged, the eyes, ears and mouth have opened and the babies are beginning to leave the pouch to ride on mom's back returning to the pouch throughout the day to feed. The babies will stay with mom for several more months. Initially, they will ride on her back, but as they grow, more and more time is spent running along side her learning to find food. Somewhere around 4-5 months, they will leave mom to spend the rest of their lives as loners.