25 Fascinating Facts About the Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana)
November 16, 2006 11:50 PM UTC
(Updated: November 17, 2006 09:40 AM UTC)
views: 0
|
2 people recommend this
|
comments: 41
Yesterday I took an inservice class on the topic of opossums from the Wildlife Rehab Center of MN, and thought I might share some of the interesting things I learned with y'all.
- The Virginia Opossum is North America's only marsupial, and the single species of Opossum found here
- The adult Virginia Opossum is approximately the size of a domestic cat, with males noticeably larger than females.
- The endearing opossum face features a pointed nose, beady eyes, and rounded "Mickey Mouse" style ears.
- The opossum's metabolism and body temperature are significantly slower than placental mammals of the same size. They are slow-moving compared with other mammals of a similar size.
- Opossums have 50 teeth, more than any other mammal.
- It is easy to distinguish between male and female opossums because the males have a scent gland on their chest, which stains the chest hair bright yellow.
- Opossum fur is white at the base and black at the tip, with long white guard hairs, and hairless feet and tail. Opossums living in colder northern climates tend to have thicker undercoats than their southern cousins.
- Despite its reputation as a "southern" animal, the opossum's range has expanded considerably northward toward and into Canada. The species only just moved into the southern part of Minnesota about 10 years ago. Nearly all Minnesota opossums suffer from frostbite, particularly on the tip of the tail. Opossums do not enjoy long lives in Minnesota, most survive no more than one winter.
- Opossums can lose up to 45% of their body weight and still survive over the winter. Female opossums in captivity, which were fed as much as they wanted over a winter, still lost 27% of their muscle mass. This appears to be an adaptation to decreased food availability during the winter, and the opossum's main adaptation to colder climates.
- Opossum feet have opposable thumbs for grasping – even on their back feet. The thumb lacks a claw.
- Opossums possess a hairless "prehensile" tail, which is used to grasp objects and can even support their hanging weight when young. Adult opossums don't hang by their tail.
- The opossum is a "living fossil". It's physiology has remained essentially unchanged since the era of the dinosaurs.
- The opossum brain is relatively primitive and smaller than that of a placental mammal of the same size.
- Opossums are omnivores, meaning that they consume both plant and animal material. Their preferred diet consists mainly of insects and carrion.
- Opossums hiss in warning when they feel threatened, and truly do "play possum" when attacked or injured. They will curl up into a ball, lips turned back, saliva around the mouth, and secrete a nasty smelling fluid from their anal glands. This behavior is involuntary. An opossum in this state may appear dead, so it should be left in a quiet place to see if it recovers before assuming that it has shuffled off this mortal coil.
- Opossums are loners and will not tolerate one others' company except during mating season. Opossums seen foraging together are likely young littermates who have not yet separated to live in their own territories.
- Opossums are nomadic, with a foraging territory that averages 10 acres. They prefer dark, secure areas either above or below ground, but do not put much time or effort into making a den. They are far more likely to take over a burrow that has been abandoned by another animal.
- The female opossum has a forked vagina with 2 separate uteri.
- The male opossum has a forked penis.
- Female opossums are sexually mature at approximately 6 months, and remain receptive to males for only 36 hours after ovulation. Male opossums are sexually mature at approximately 8 months.
- Opossum sperm are stuck together in pairs, and a "single" sperm will not swim straight.
- Once fertilized, opossum gestation only takes 11-13 days. Approximately 21 embryos are born and quickly climb into the female's pouch. At this time the embryos are only 10 millimeters long and weigh .13 gram (For comparison, a standard paperclip weighs about one gram).
- Female opossums have 13 nipples, and not all are functional. Only the strongest embryos, which reach the pouch and latch onto a nipple first, will survive.
- The opossum mother's nipple enlarges and lengthens in the embryo's mouth, and the baby opossum will remain attached to the nipple for approximately 2 months. Because of this baby opossums have no sucking instinct and cannot nurse from a bottle or syringe. The orphans at the wildlife center require tube feeding.
- Opossums have 2 litters per year with an average litter size of 8. The babies begin to move out of the pouch at 67 days, eat solid food at 75 days, and are weaned at 90-95 days. Older babies do ride on their mother's back.
2 people recommend this post
Please provide details below to help Gather review this content. If it is found to be inappropriate and in violation of the Gather Terms of Service, action will be taken.
You have successfully submitted a report for this post.
|
|
|
recommend
Facebook
Twitter
bookmark 
print
Comments: 41
I left him food every day after that.
I actually kind of enjoy taking care of them because while they have the potential for aggression, they don't move terribly fast, and are not bright enough to be sneaky.
Squirrels, which I'm more accustomed to, are a whole different story!
I cared for 3 of them tonight. The youngest was very sweet and probably a little more habituated to humans than we would like. The biggest one was pretty aggressive, but ony when I was messing around in his cage. The medium one was more avoidant than aggressive. I was careful about wearing leather gloves regardless.
Maybe he is possesed.
Raccoons are a whole lot smarter, though.
I think their funny faces are ADORABLE.
Zelda and I have formula fed many, many squirrels during loooooong nights at the wildlife center. They have so much spunk and personality, I've grown to really love them. The squirrels that live by my house take peanuts from our hand.
Carol, depending on which part of Canada you live in, they may be coming to a province near you soon!
Kenneth, I'm not surprised you have them in Vermont. From what I've heard they are as far north as Canada in the east. I agree that they seem to thrive in urban areas, just like raccoons. They are scavengers and opportunists and food is readily available in cities, especially when people put pet food outside and leave it overnight.
Joanne, your characterization of me as an "earth mother" type cracks me up. If you knew me you'd find I'm not terribly maternal! I'm probably more "scientific" than "earthy", but I love all animals and enjoy helping them. I was a science major in college and am still totally fascinated with animal behavior. One of my work friends also had an opossum in her garage, and she finally got it to leave by putting down a little trail of dog food leading out of the garage and to a larger pile of food in the driveway.
Thanks, Priscilla. I imagine that any animal that tears up one's garden and eats one's strawberries would be most unwelcome! Still, they're odd little creatures.
Zelda, you've been colorized! Unfortunately, from what I read on the internet it would appear that they don't live much longer even in warmer climes. A lot end of us roadkill, which reminds me:
If you find a female opossum that has recently been hit by a car check its pocket for babies that may still be alive!
I pasued at this item... tried to wrap my brain around it... and finally came to some sort of comfort zone, as in "yeah, I guess that could be workable."
Then, beginning to regain my composure I come upon the next item...
"19. The male opossum has a forked penis."
I'll never be the same after this, Auntie... I'm suddenly very very confused... where's my blankie...
Hope I never find one injured, and if I do you know we'll end up at the WRC doorstep.
I love that they are unchanged since the dinosaurs.
Julia, earlier in our relationship my hubby & I had an argument over whether opossums lived in MN. He was all "of course there are opossums here!!". I informed him that there may be opossums where HE is from (the very southern part of WI), but I had never heard of an opossum in MN. It turned out we were both right!
you are an angel for doing this work.
I think it's the least we can do for our wild friends, considering that we kill them on our roads and destroy their habitat. It's the starfish story at work.
We have plenty of opossums here in Oklahoma and they ofen pass my yard, via the top of the stockade fence- JUST out of the dog's reach.
Some friends have a neighborhood oppossom who eats with the cats. Last year, our 4th Occasional Christmas Carol Massacree stopped by their party on our route- (sang some carols, drank some wassail & partied). They sent us next door to carol the grandparents and tots, who all came out on the porch to listen. The neighborhood opposom was already dining on the porch and watched (OK, stared) appreciatively (OK, maybe not appreciatively but he seemed quite rivited). When we finished our songs, he just went back to eating.
Do you thiink all this northward migration ('Dillos are doing it, too) is in anticipation of /response to global warming?
There are also lovely drawings showing how to skin squirrels and rabbits. They look, a bit disstressingly, like they are being "helped" out of their clothes. Oppossoms don't get skinned, but boiled and scraped.
-That scent gland gives them an musky aroma that reminds you of a irate skunk.
-Opossums survive by consuming pet food-LOTS of pet food.
-Fifty teeth and a oral septic tank leave a nasty bite.
-Opossums can run if they want to, really, REALLY fast.
-They taste just like roast pork!
The male opossum has a forked penis.
Omg! I learned so much from this article. Thanks for sharing as I am very into wildlife. I like possums from afar. I would just like to add that they also love grease. There is one that always crashes my dinner parties. After grilling I have to close up the grill immediately and cover up otherwise when I go back out there Ms. Possum will be licking the grids in the dark. You have never heard such a scream come from a human being as mine.
My friend has the world's largest lab in a pen in his yard. There's a possum that comes over all the time. The dog plays with it, carries it in his mouth (possum plays possum during this). When he gets bored and falls asleep the possum goes and eats his remaining dog food and then leaves. He shows up every few days for the play date.
Jennifer, some wildlife scientists do believe that the northward movement of opossums is a symptom of global warming. It certainly seems possible, but it's hard to know for certain. I'd guess that more than one factor may have come together to fuel the expansion of their range: Global warming plus the opossum's general adaptability for living with humans. Debra is totally right - urban opossums survive largely on pet food. In fact, that's precisely what we feed them at the wildlife center! Dog or cat food, eggs and crickets. In wild areas they are scavengers, feeding off of carrion and insects and whatever they can find. One thing is certain: they're not picky eaters!
St. Joan, I have no idea why you had such a problem with that nice opossum cleaning your grill for you. I mean, it seems like a win-win situation: The opossum gets a meal, you get a nice, clean grill! I'd like to see the interaction between that opossum and the dog, though. They're pretty solitary creatures. The dog may think of it as a playmate, but I bet the opossum is just thinking about the right time to steal the dog's dinner.
Juni girl, you have a one track mind ;-)
Auntie- I wonder if there is any IF to Global Warming. Nevertheless, Mother Nature-stands ever ready- Creating opportunistic species like opossoms, Starlings, bindweed and dandilions as wild cards. They are always expanding their range into garbage heaps and broken soil, demonstrating, always, that Nature hates a vacuum.
Bongo, I have no idea why only some of the nipples are functional. I think the more important question is how they ended up with 13 of them. Mother nature usually designs biological multiples with even numbers, so this is strange indeed.
Auntie, if that ain't the best way to end an argument with a beloved I don't know what is.
Opossums, gotta love 'em.
Actually they are cute creatures and once in a while I will see one in my yard near my banana trees
We have loads of them around here, you mostly see them squished though.
I did have one little baby come up to my back deck one evening, cute little bugger. But they really are mean little critters, so I didn't get too close to him, knowing that his mom was probably not far away!
Thank you for those interesting facts. We have a few living somewhere in my backyard. We found 2 dead baby possums in our basement last week.
Last year.....we had to keep shooing them out of our garage and storage.
They are always breaking into the cat food storage.
They really are the cutest things.