Opossums - General Information

Picture courtesy of Discover Life

Opossums - Habits

Sometimes they choose garages and attics as their temporary quarters because they are pushed out of their natural habitat and forced into closer proximity to people. In the wild Opossums have many predators: dogs, cats, owls, foxes, and other larger wildlife, but mostly Opossums suffer from humans and cars. In danger Opossums can feign death or drool heavily for a predator to think the Opossum is sick and unappetizing. Or they hiss and growl, showing sharp teeth, but it's only a bluff. These gentle and placid animals prefer to avoid confrontations.

Opossums have several ways of picking things up. Their back feet have opposable toes like the man's thumb. They can wrap the tail around things or hang on the tail, like monkeys do. They can also use their front feet for picking up things although they don't have opposable thumbs. Opossums don't have their own territory, but they are always on the move in search for food. Females stay in smaller areas while they can care for the youth. Opossums make clicking sounds during mating season or hiss and growl if threatened.

Picture courtesy of Exotic Pets

Opossums - General Info Links

Animal Tracks - Opossums - Presents natural history and survey on Opossum's tracks.

Brain Collections: Virginia Opossums - Survey on Opossum's brain and abilities.

Critter Catalog - Opossums' and other animals' photo gallery.

Critter Questions - Opossum - Florida's only marsupial is the Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana).

Didelphis Virginiana (Opossum) - Detailed description, economic importance for humans, geographic range, conservation, and other aspects of Opossums' life in the wild.

Managing Opossums' Problems - Survey on Opossums' management in the USA.

Opossums Profile - The home page of America's only native Marsupial, the Virginia Opossum.

Opossum Research - Opossum Natural History and Distribution.

Picture courtesy of Georgia Museum of Natural History

Opossum: Our Marvelous Marsupial, The Social Loner - A personal look at the Opossum's natural history and habits.

Opossums-Lindsay Wildlife Museum - Basic facts on Opossums and how to cope with them.

Paleocene Mammals of the World - Survey on fossil remnants of Opossums.

Peaceful Coexistence - Importance of Opossums for humans and tips on avoiding problems with them.

Peter Lorenz Possums Page - Welcome to Germany's first and only site about Opossums!

Possum Information - Amazing but true 'possum tales.

Possum page - Basic facts concerning wild Opossums and many related links.

Project Wildlife: Living with Opossums - Offers tips on coexisting with wild Opossums.

The Virginia Opossum - Myths and truths concerning Opossums.

Picture courtesy of Hilton Pond Center ©

Urban Neighbors - Problems connected with Opossums living close to humans.

Virginia Opossum - Description, reproduction, and habits of Opossums are described.

Virginia Opossums (Didelphis Virginiana) - General information on the species and lots of photos.

Virginia Opossum Printout - Anatomy, classification, and diet of Virginia Opossums.

Wildlife - Opossum - Presents species description, phylogeny, natural history, and terrestrial ecology of Opossums.