This little critter is slowly making its way into southern Ontario, Quebec, and BC…likely because of climate change.
They are about the size of a cat and are easily identified because of that whitish face and salt and pepper body. They can grab things with their tails but, it is only the young ones who are lightweight enough to hang upside down!
The females have one to two litters per year – the gestation period is about 11 to 13 days! When the babies are born, they are about the size of a dime, have no fur, and are blind. Each mother usually has 13 teats, so if she has more than 13 in a litter, it’s a race to see who gets fed. Babies are independent by about the third month.
They will live just about anywhere – deciduous forests, escarpments, marshes – anywhere there is water and abundant food. The opossum is an omnivore. They have 50 teeth so they can easily consume a variety of plant and animal matter, including ticks.
They tend to be nocturnal (we saw one in early morning) and are Canada’s only marsupial.
Oh, and that phrase ‘playing possum’ is accurate! Opossums will pretend to be dead when they feel threatened and can do so for up to six hours! What a neat defense technique since most predators will not eat prey that is already dead, unless they are scavengers.
