Virginia Opossum

Description:

These opossums vary in size with the larger ones in the northerly part of their range. They are about 35-94 cm (13–37 inches) in length; individuals in the tropics are considerably smaller. Coats are gray/brown with some grizzling. The nose and toes are pink. The tail is bare of hair and gray in color. The face is white with dark ears.

Habitat:

These animals are often found in cities, where they feed on garbage and pet food left out overnight. Rarely seen in daylight. At one time, the St. Paul/Minneapolis area of Minnesota was the limit of their northern range in our area, but these animals have expanded their range northward in recent years, perhaps in response to a warming climate.

Notes:

I found this animal this afternoon in the backyard and followed him/her into a fringe of trees. Growing up on the farm, one of my jobs was to collect eggs from the chickens. A series of 12 nest boxes stacked three tall and four wide was hung on a wall. Often chickens were sitting in the nests and I had to reach underneath and push them aside to get to the eggs. Often they resisted and would peck rather vigorously. On one particular day I reached into a nest box on the bottom tier of nests and felt around under the chicken until I found an egg. Grabbing it, I pulled it out and put in the pail. On the second reach in, however, the chicken hissed at me. I ran this through my mind because chickens don't hiss. Leaning over, I found myself eye to eye with a opossum that did not look very happy. I yanked my hand out of there really quick. Eggs went flying, as did I! Never did reach into those lower tier nest boxes again without looking in them first....