American Mammals: Virginia Opossum

The first time I saw an opossum was years ago: I was playing on my Xbox 360 when I noticed something moving at the corner of my eye. Pausing my game, I moved towards the screen window to see a rat-like creature waddling by, completely ignorant of my presence. At the time, I didn't know much about these amazing and helpful animals. Now, ten-plus years later, I'm equipped with the knowledge to properly appreciate America's only native marsupial.

Virginia opossums are nocturnal and solitary, preferring to live alone as opposed to burrowing with others of their species. You typically only see them out and about at night, but if you manage to spot one during the day, don't panic! Contrary to popular belief, just because a nocturnal animal is out in the daytime doesn't necessarily mean they have rabies or another disease. Just like us humans, sometimes animals wake up in the middle of their sleep cycle hungry or thirsty, and simply need to satisfy their needs. A diseased animal will typically show signs of lethargy and confusion, and in extreme cases, may foam at the mouth.

On the topic of rabies and disease, the opossum is an interesting subject in that it is extremely rare for them to carry this deadly infection. Because opossums have a lower body temperature than most other mammals, the rabies virus struggles to survive in opossums as a host. However, it is important to note that, while rare that an opossum may have rabies, it is still possible, and bites or scratches from any wild animal should be taken seriously.

Virginia Opossum, "Didelphis virginiana"

That being said, an opossum's first line of defense isn't biting or scratching, but rather making a hissing noise and opening its mouth to show off its rows of intimidating teeth. If that doesn't work, the opossum enters an involuntary state of playing dead. These passive creatures stress themselves out so much during an encounter with a larger predator that they simply fall over and lay still, hoping for the threat to grow bored and leave. If that doesn't work, the opossum finally resorts to violence and may snap its jaws or flash its claws at an attacker.

Opossums are also rather beneficial to have around, as they eat up a large amount of ticks each season, reducing the number of the pests in an area significantly. With more tick sightings in southeast Michigan this summer, causing a surge in cases of Lyme's disease, having a neighborhood opossum around may prove useful.

As previously stated, opossums are North America's only native marsupial: they have pouches much like a kangaroo! When opossums give birth, their babies are underdeveloped, and crawl into their mother's pouch to continue growing. When they're too big to share the pouch with their siblings, the opossum mother will carry her young on her back from place to place, keeping each of her babies near and safe.

So, the next time you see one of these strange looking creatures, don't panic! They're far too important to your local environment to waste spending time and money on setting up a trap. Instead, try observing these curious, passive animals from a distance as they waddle around cleaning up the area of ticks and other disease-carrying parasites.