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Didelphis virginiana
The Virginia Opossum is about 2 ½ feet in length, which includes its foot-long hairless tail. The Virginia Opossum uses its tail to grasp onto things (prehensile). It weighs 4-5 pounds. The feet are clawless with an opposable thumb in each hind foot. It is about the size of a house cat. The opossum has a pointed snout and its mouth is armed with fifty sharp teeth. The fur is white at the base with black tips. This fur is interspersed with longer, white "guard hairs". Females have a fur-lined pouch on the underside of their abdomen.
The Virginia opossum is not native to San Diego. It is native to the eastern half of the United States but was introduced to California in 1895. It can be found also in southeastern Canada and most of Mexico.
This possum comes around to eat the food I leave out for some feral cats I care for. They are smart enough to get far away from the possum!
Spotted on Jan 2, 2012
Submitted on Jan 3, 2012
3 Comments
MaryEvans2 -- It's so nice of you to rescue something with such ferocious looking teeth! These are city possums and I've never seen one in need of rescuing.
Nice spot. I love opossums and they are pretty plentiful here in North Florida. Have even rescued a few, and return them to the wild once they were old enough.
cool.