Is an Opossum Sheltering in Your Yard This Winter? Here’s What You Need to Know

Opossums, sometimes  referred to as "possums" are a very unique animal. Visually, they are very unlike other wildlife we are accustomed to seeing around. They are also the only marsupial native to North America. This means that they carry their young in a pouch, once the young are larger they actually move onto the back of their mother where she will carry them around until they are large enough to be independent. Even more interestingly, they are relatively nomadic. Opossums do not tend to occupy territories or den or nest in locations, but rather are usually just passing through. 

Opossums have been getting the butt end of the rumour mill for years. Often regarded as dangerous and disease filled they are nothing if not the opposite. They are the only marsupial in North America! When threatened they actually "play 'possum" where they roll onto their side, go stiff, drool and emit a foul smell, making their best attempt at looking dead so that they will be left alone by potential predators (including humans). As it turns out, opossums can digest nearly anything, including bones, effectively cleaning up our urban areas. They are seemingly immune to many things that ail humans and other wildlife including pathogens from dead or decaying animals, snake venom and Lyme disease that can be contracted from tick bites. They actually eat ticks that land on them and a single opossum can eliminate up to 4,000 ticks per week from our landscapes! Now that is a valuable service. 

Opossums seem very alien-like to us in so many ways, their appearance and behaviours are not something many feel comfortable around or used to. However, they help us in ways that so many people are unaware of, so much so that The Nature of Things by David Suzuki made an entire episode on them titled "Natures Clean Up Crew", you can watch that here.  

“Nothing prepares you for an opossum. They have a face only a mother could love. Really, they are such a weird looking animal” — Suzanne MacDonald, psychologist and biologist at York University 

Contrary to popular opinion, opossums do not hibernate --- but they also were not made to survive Canadian winters. They are native to the southern United States and have in many ways come here by accident - on trucks and shipments. If you take a look at their bodies - their tails, ears and paws are completely exposed and therefore very susceptible to frostbite, much like ours or a pets would be. It only takes a few hours for frostbite to set in when we are in a deep freeze. When periods like this are extensive, more of them tend to show up in wildlife rehabilitation centres. 

Opossum sheltering in a BBQ. Photo by Kristen Martyn. 

A way you can help? “If they’ve found a warm spot, consider leaving them be until the spring,” suggests the executive director at the Toronto Wildlife Centre. “They won’t chew anything or cause damage, and in the spring, they’ll move out on their own.”

Often viewed as a nuisance, opossums are anything but. They are quiet, tend to fly under the radar, they are not dangerous and actually eliminate dangers from harming humans and other wildlife. They are so incredible and unique and offer a wide array of services for urban landscapes. 

Send love to an opossum nearest you! 

Warmly, 

Heather