Nature Now! Awesome Opossum, Part 2
For immediate release ‐ August 20, 2020
Nature Now
Contact: Jessica Wackes, 919.707.9850. Images available upon request
The only interaction that most people have with the Virginia Opossum is on the road! Sadly, that is not usually a good interaction for the opossum. The opossum is not well-suited for crossing heavily traveled roads. They are slow and apt to freeze when danger approaches — not a good formula for crossing roads. Some of you may have opossums show up at your bird feeders or even your back door if you leave food for outside pets. Most people know very little about one of our most common mammals.
In January, I decided to deploy my trail camera focused on a hole leading to a burrow under the stump mound of a large leaning tree. This burrow is in the woods behind my house but is less than 300 feet from my back door. I had no idea who was using it, but it appeared that some critter was going in and out on a regular basis. When I retrieved the memory card a few weeks later, I saw that it was an opossum and I decided to continue observing this burrow to learn more. Setting my camera on video mode, I began my journey of learning more about this animal with glimpses into its life in 20-30 second video segments.
I now have been observing the opossum at this burrow for eight months. I even expanded by putting a second trail camera at another burrow nearby. I have learned much about the opossum by watching hundreds of videos from these two burrows. I began this thinking that I would be watching one or two individual opossums on a regular basis. I was surprised at how many different individuals regularly visited the burrows. I am now watching a passel of opossums, four females and four males. Identifying individual opossums from short videos is not easy. I have an ID worksheet that helps me identify individuals based on a combination of characteristics in addition to sex — size of head, markings on ears/face, length of dark tail band, kinks/crooks/injuries in tail, etc.
The nearly hairless tail does give the opossum a rat-like appearance. But their tail is a marvelous adaption for climbing. They can use it as a fifth “arm” when climbing or even use it to carry leaves into the burrow. I have videos of female and male opossums carrying leaves into the burrow to cover the bare ground inside. Usually only one stays in the burrow at a time but occasionally two will share it for a while. I suspect they use multiple burrows or tree hollows as they appear to be part-time inhabitants at these two burrows. Generally, the opossums are nocturnal but their activity pattern outside the burrow varied widely and they can be active during the middle of the day.
Males scent-mark the outside of the burrow including the plants nearby. They do this by vigorously rubbing the scent glands on their chest against what they wish to mark. Multiple males mark the same area. I’m not sure if it is competitive or if the males are marking a shared territory. Females come behind the males to rub on the same areas. This may be just an attraction to the male or perhaps the females are taking on the male’s scent to mark themselves. They do this a lot! A Christmas Fern and small Beech tree have really taken a beating from scent marking.
The opossums are prolific, to say the least! I watched the pouches of two females grow larger this past spring until they could hardly contain the young inside. Those same two females and a new third female now have bulging pouches. The moms can hardly walk without dragging the pouch on the ground. When the young are too big for the pouch, they will ride on their mother’s back until they finally drop off at some point to be on their own.
I have learned much by watching the opossums at the burrows. When you watch an opossum emerge from the burrow, pause to yawn and sniff the air before plodding down the slope, you make a connection and see them as individuals. The first opossum that I saw emerging from the burrow on January 2, I named Mr. Big Head. He seemed to be an older male as he moved slowly and deliberately. He also slept in more and came out of the burrow at odd times. I grew fond of him but sensed that he was probably nearing the end of his short life. Opossums only live 1-3 years in the wild. I haven’t seen Mr. Big Head since mid-May, so I think that he has passed on. I am honored that he shared part of his life with me and that I can share some of what I have learned with you. I hope that you will learn more about this awesome animal. The opossum certainly deserves more respect than most people give it.
By Jerry Reynolds, Head of Outreach
For more information about our upcoming activities, conservation news and ground-breaking research, follow @NaturalSciences on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation with #visitNCMNS.