MCR Monthly Newsletter

July 2025

OPOSSUMS

Recently I was at my daughter’s house and her dog chased a mother opossum with babies on its back. One of the babies fell off and was not injured. My daughter placed the baby at the entrance of the mother’s den (under a woodshed) and mom opossum came out and took back the baby!

Opossums are very unique and often misunderstood animals that can be found from Canada to Florida. Although they have hairless tails like a rat, they are NOT rodents. They are marsupials more akin to a kangaroo!  They are the only marsupial found in North America. Opossums have a very short gestation time (12-13 days).  Babies (6 to 13 in a litter) are born in an underdeveloped state only about a half inch long and weigh about 0.005 of an ounce!  Born with very rudimentary legs, they crawl through fur and into the mother’s pouch where they attach to one of 13 mammary glands. Feeding off the mother’s milk, they increase their weight by 10 times and size to 2 ¾ inches long in about 7 days!  At 9 weeks they open their eyes and may venture out of the pouch for short periods.

Adults may grow to 24-40 inches long with a 10-12 inch tail and weigh 4-12 pounds. Contrary to what we’ve seen in cartoons and animations, adult opossums do not sleep hanging from their tails. As adults they are too heavy to do this. But only babies are light enough to hang completely by the tail. The prehensile tail is used primarily for grasping and balance while climbing! They are primarily nocturnal, but they may comfortably forage for food during the day!

They are omnivores, meaning they eat both plants and other animals including insects, frogs, mice, and snakes.

 Opossum fun facts:

#1:  Opossums are immune to the venom of most snakes like Rattlesnakes and copperheads!!

#2: Opossums have 50 sharp teeth! This is the most teeth of any mammal in North America. These sharp teeth aid them in biting through the tough exoskeletons of insects like beetles.

#3: Opossums often play dead, foam from the mouth, and secrete a foul-smelling liquid from anal glands to mimic dead roadkill to discourage predators and humans.

#4:  Opossums love to eat ticks as much as 5000 in the summer, but they don’t get Lyme disease.

#5:  Because they have a very low body temperature for a mammal, they rarely carry rabies.

Happy 4th of July everybody,

It’s July and it’s hot! Stay hydrated while hiking….. Don’t forget that your dog needs water too on hikes!

Remember, take pictures and leave only footprints.

Ranger Rich

Eco-vocabulary:

MARSUPIAL- A group (infraclass) of animals that give birth to relatively undeveloped young that continue to develop in a pouch or 

(marsupium), on the mother’s abdomen (e.g. opossum, kangaroo, koala, wombat).