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It’s true we haven’t had a column on mammals yet. Part of the problem was picking one to write about. Which would you pick? After much thought and coin-flipping, we decided the first one should be on opossums since they are among the most familiar and peculiar of our native mammals
The Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) is found throughout most of eastern North America and on the West Coast. The name comes to us from Captain (and part-time Virginian) John Smith, who modified an Algonquin name that means “white face.” The body color varied considerably but most opossums do indeed have a whitish face, hairless black ears and a pointy pick nose. They also have opposable grasping thumbs on the bade feet and a scaly prehensile tail.
Opossums are most active at night. Their diet includes insects, worms, snails, frogs, mice, eggs, fruits, nuts, seeds, carrion, even rattlesnakes (they are immune to pit viper venom!)v They can be seen at compost piles, garbage cans and bird feeders, espedally in the winter, but are not as big a problem around dwellings as other “urban” mammals. They also present fewer health risks since they have an amazing resistance to most diseases, including rabies.
Opossums are shy, solitary animals that appear to wander aimlessly around in search of food. Their predators are numerous and the average lifespan of adults is probably not
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