Opossum

Opossums are the only marsupial in North America. Female marsupials have a pouch on their abdomen in which they carry and nurse their young. Opossums are nocturnal animals, which means they are most active during the night. During the day, they hide in hollow logs, trees, under brush piles, in road culverts, in rock and stump crevices or under buildings, decks or porches. They are able to live wherever sufficient water, food and shelter exist.

Opossums mate in March, and young, called joeys, are born after only two weeks as embryos. At birth, they are barely larger than a plump raisin and spend about two months nursing within their mother's pouch. When they are about 3-4 inches long, they start to get too large for the pouch and they take to riding around on the mother's back. At about 4 months of age, when joeys are approximately 7-9 inches from snout to rump, they leave their mother and become independent.

Tip: Occasionally, a joey will fall off the mother's back as she travels around looking for food. If it doesn't catch up and climb back on, it will be left behind. Opossums are often hit by motor vehicles when they try to cross a roadway. An adult female that is killed by a motor vehicle may still have live joeys in her pouch or clinging to her fur.

If you find an opossum that is cold, wet, injured, in a dangerous location or less than 7 inches long not including the tail, it may need to be placed in the care of a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. If you find a young opossum and it is longer than 9 inches from snout to rump (not including the tail), it is old enough to be independent of its mother.