The area was acquired in 1983 through a donation of 20 acres by Mr. and Mrs. Roy Smith as a memorial for Nannie B. Floyd.
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Scientific Name
Didelphis virginiana
Family
Didelphidae (opossums) in the order Marsupialia
Description
The Virginia opossum is a medium-sized mammal with long, rather coarse, grayish-white (sometimes darker) fur; a sharp, slender muzzle with a pink nose; prominent, thin, naked ears; a white or yellowish-white head; short legs; and a long, grasping tail covered with scales and scant hairs. Males and females look alike, although mature females possess a fur-lined belly pouch for carrying young, and adult males in particular often have damaged ears and tail tips due to freezing.
Size
Total length: 24–34 inches; tail length: 9–15 inches; weight: 4–15 pounds.
Where To Find
Abundant throughout the state; less abundant in the northwest and southeast regions.
Habitat and Conservation
Opossums prefer wooded areas mostly near streams, especially near farms as opposed to densely wooded areas. They are also common in urban and suburban areas. Management includes regulated harvesting to maintain healthy populations. In Missouri, hunters and trappers may pursue opossums during furbearer season. Check the current Wildlife Code of Missouri for details.
Food
Opossums eat a variety of foods but prefer animal matter, including many varieties of insects, and carrion of rabbits, cats, squirrels, mice, and other animals. Reptiles, amphibians, crayfish, birds and bird eggs, and earthworms are also eaten. Fruits are eaten particularly in fall and early winter and include pokeberry, grapes, persimmons, papaws, and more. Opossums are also known to scavenge food from unsecured garbage cans.
Status
Because of the opossum’s abundance, management requires only a regulation of harvest.
Life Cycle
Life Cycle
Breeding season begins in early February, and gestation only lasts 12 or 13 days. Most litters are born by the end of February. The blind, incompletely developed young are less than a half inch long; at birth they make their way to the mother’s pouch, where they nurse until they are weaned, usually in May. The females can mate again at this time, with the second litters usually weaned by the end of September. Young of both sexes breed the first year after birth.
Control
Human Connections
Opossum fur is used in making coats, and many people enjoy baking and eating opossum. An opossum might look something like a large rat, but its life history, biology, and habits make this nocturnal mammal worthy of appreciation. What other mammal in our state can hang by its tail, “play dead,” and carry its young in a pouch?
Ecosystem Connections
Opossums feed on many insects considered injurious by farmers, and they also perform an important ecosystem function by feeding on carrion. Opossums fall prey to foxes, coyotes, bobcats, and owls.
Signs and Tracks
Signs and Tracks Image
Signs and Tracks
Front track:
- 2 inches long
- 5 toes, fairly evenly widespread
- track looks star-shaped.
Hind track:
- 2 inches long
- 5 toes
- thumb is at right angle; middle three together; fifth toe separate.
Other notes:
- Opossums are common throughout Missouri, especially in wooded areas.
- The hind foot is handlike, with a thumb sticking out at a right angle that does not leave a claw print.
- Often confused with raccoon tracks.
- Opossums are active in winter, while raccoons are dormant or inactive.
- The front track is often positioned beside the hind track, near the angle formed by the thumb and fingers of the hind track.
- The left and right sides are 4 inches apart.
- The distance between strides is 7 inches.
- The tail commonly leaves a track, often gently undulating, especially in snow.
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An opossum walks on snow in search for food after a snow storm at Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area near Columbia, Mo.
Credit
Noppadol Paothong
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Video of an opossum in the wild.
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Although opossums are famous for "playing possum"-pretending to be dead when threatened-they will hiss in conflicts with other animals or if cornered.
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opossum mother with young on her back
Credit
Jim Rathert
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Juvenile opossum at Peck Ranch CA
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Reta Barkley
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Jim Rathert
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MDC
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Danny Brown
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Similar Species
Where to See Species
Gravois Creek CA provides forested open space adjacent to St. Louis County's Grants Trail.
Lipton Conservation Area adjoins Santa Fe Park, which is owned and managed by the City of Independence. The area features a1/2-mile graveled hiking trail.
About Mammals in Missouri
More than 70 species of wild mammals live in Missouri: opossums; shrews and moles; bats; rabbits; woodchuck, squirrels, beaver, mice, voles, and other rodents; coyote, foxes, bear, raccoon, weasels, otter, mink, skunks, bobcat, and other carnivores; deer and elk; and more. Most of us recognize mammals easily — they have fur, are warm-blooded, nurse their young, and breathe air.