It is quiet this time of year and last nights cooler temperature has hushed the chorus of cicadas, crickets and tree frogs so that only the sun’s explosion of light and the tweets of soon to depart sibling Ruby-throated Hummingbirds break the silence of night. Migration of birds and butterflies are underway . . . one begins to feel lonely for all their cheery chirps, bright feathers and scales. With the sunrise many silent beasts are stretching and finding their way along the awakened forest floor, fields and gardens, while others may be curling up . . . to sleep away the day.
It is in this backdrop of a new day that I begin my tenth installment of ‘A Bestiary‘ featuring the rather extraordinary Virginia Opossum Didelphis virginiana. The name opossum comes from our Native Americans and is a translation from an Algonquian word meaning ‘white animal’. The Virginia opossum is the only opossum native to the United States and is of a solitary, nomadic and mostly nocturnal nature.
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Well, sometimes they may break the rules of our adjectives, as on a mild winter day of 2010, when I eyed this unique marsupial out in the snow. Food may be scarce forcing the opportunist, omnivorous opossum to search during the day. Perhaps that is why it was so curious about me . . . hoping for food. Not myself, of course, but with their superior olfactory potential perhaps the opossum caught the aroma of warmed bread drifting out.
Virginia opossums do not hibernate which makes searching for food difficult in the harsh winter months.
When I opened the barn studio door to take some of these photographs I thought the timid beast surely would dash off . . . as much as any opossum can dash anywhere. Instead the beast that is said to be shy and often hisses and growls with fifty sharp teeth when feeling threatened, just turned around and came back over towards where I was standing, as I captured a number of portraits.
Perhaps the soft focus gives a more flattering appearance but I was quite taken by the rosy pink nose or snout tip, long whiskers and what appears to be thick eyelashes and dark eyeliner. Looking into the beautiful black eyes this Virginia opossum seems very docile and sweet . . . pure projection of course. Though these beasts are misunderstood and from my experience have mostly a very gentle nature unless provoked.
Virginia opossums have been around for millions of years. Their ancestors roamed about with dinosaurs and are remarkable in that they are North Americas only marsupials . . . akin to kangaroos. Virginia opossums surely are singular beasts among those that share our habitats and scientist find them intriguing and important for research in better caring for our human premature births.
The portrait above portrays a very different feeling of the demeanor of a Virginia opossum. I dislike my profile too . . . but here the opossum looks more like a witch in ‘Macbeth’ and a bit scary.
Salmon is a color the Virginia opossum wears well, their ears are a splendid design and all four feet are padded in pink. Their ample claws aid them in climbing and eating.
Male and female Virginia opossums are commonly classified as Jack and Jill. I would like to believe this puzzled marsupial to be a Jill and to imagine her pouch that might hold up to thirteen offspring similar in size to a bumblebee.
Jack and Jill mostly mate between January and March . . . then again in midsummer and can have up to three litters over the year. The female Virginia opossum cares for her young alone and literally licks her tiny embryos to life after only eleven or so days from gestation. The helpless teeny embryonic beasts . . . a size able to fit on a dime . . . must struggle blindly without help from the mother . . . excepting her taking a position that diminishes the distance they must crawl . . . up the hairy landscape of her body to the pouch and attach to one of her teats. Once attached the teat will swell making it very secure and the young will stay connected for up to two months. More young are born than teats to feed them so numbers will die right away. For the Virginia opossum birth is far more difficult than for most newborns and truly is a race for their life.
Still many of the
young Virginia opossums will die before they leave the pouch and those that survive will cling to the female back while she forages for food. The little ones will go off on their own to explore and if they lose sight of their mother both will make a clicking sound until they reunite.
When I hear
coyotes or owls calling out at night, I know that the independent young are very vulnerable.
Fox, hawks and snakes will prey on the juvenile too. Virginia opossum adults may only live about two to three years. Hundreds die on highways as they dine on carrion . . . cleaning up our road kills . . . and others die from disease and starvation.
The females do not dig nests but will sleep in a hollow tree or an open space beneath a barn . . . most likely where the Virginia opossum spotlighted here was sleeping. Some have sighted Virginia opossums carrying detritus to line a tunnel, borrowed burrow or even an old squirrels nest.
In the photograph above the “thumb” or big toe can be seen on the Virginia opossum’s right rear foot. This appendage enables the placid beasts to hold onto tree limbs much like a hand. Opossums use their mostly naked prehensile tails to wrap around branches which helps support them while climbing. Virginia opossums are great climbers and swimmers though move very slowly in both pursuits. It is a myth that they hang upside down by their tails to sleep.
When photographing the Virginia opossum I began wondering how the creature would react to me if I were closer and on its level. I venture out and actually stand only a few feet away when taking this photo. Though I do have a walking stick there is no need for any protection. I am hoping for a performance of ‘playing opossum’ but to my surprise . . . other than a few hairs on end . . . Jill seems not to mind my curious nature. Maybe it is due to her poor daylight eye sight, but clearly I am not considered much of a threat.
Opossum brains are not very big . . . much smaller than a cat or raccoon brain . . . but perhaps they can sense danger from a person better than other beasts and they are known to have an excellent memory. The largest portion of the brain seems to be dedicated to olfactory functions.
Most
Virginia opossums are about the size of large house cats. Jill does seem bigger in her thick winter coat.
Opossums have an strong immune system and rarely if ever get rabies. They are great tick mops as they will eat any ticks on their bodies . . . helping to keep a check on Lyme disease and I so appreciate their efforts. I am happy to learn that their fur is not much in demand these days.
I do not recall if I saw the beast again that winter but in the following summer I was lucky to see this Virginia opossum moving up then quickly down the hill in the native blueberry field and wondered if it might be the same I saw months past. The ears have the same markings and it has the same tendency to not know which way it wants to go. Opossums will not usually stay in the same area for more than a day or two hence their reputation for being drifters. They may not wander as much if they have a good source of food and may even stay in one area for weeks.
There are several
streams and a spring in our forests that a Virginia opossum prefers, as well as a river at the bottom of the hillside. Here in the gardens, forest and fields they have an abundance of blueberries, apples, currents, and other fruits to add to their diet of insects, bird eggs, worms, rabbits and most anything they can find to complement their most desired dishes of carrion.
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As with all beasts it is important not to feed or interfere with the routine lives of Virginia opossums. They may be attracted to your bird feeders but that is not the fault of the beast. There is one time where our interference may save the lives of Virginia opossums and that is when you see a dead opossum on the road. If it is a female there may be live babies in her pouch. You can . . . with caution for your well being and theirs . . . carry these little ones to safety and call a wildlife information line in your state, who can advise you on what next to do. Virginia opossums rarely cause harm to crops or humans, but if you have horses you must be careful not to allow this beast to share your horses bedding, food or water as they are hosts for the disease Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis or EPM and
Opossum Disease.
The Virginia opossum is a very beneficial beast in keeping the earth cleaner and helping us fight Lyme disease. What matters most is that they are part of the diverse wildlife population that makes our world fascinating. You can read more about their amazing life
here. My thanks to William and Winifred Krause for such a detailed and outstanding book about our Virginia opossum.
© 2012, Carol Duke. All rights reserved. This article is the property of Native Plants and Wildlife Gardens. If you are reading this at another site, please report that to us
