Virginia opossum
Scientific name: Didelphis virginiana
- How weight is recorded: Whole weight
Field notes
Appearance
Virginia opossums are stocky marsupials with a pointed snout, rounded ears, and prehensile tail. The coat is coarse and grizzled gray-white dorsally with white facial markings; males are slightly larger and may appear darker than females.
Size and weight
Adults typically weigh 1.6–5.5 kg (males average 3.5 kg, females 2.5 kg); body length 38–53 cm with tail adding 20–27 cm.
Habitat
Virginia opossums inhabit deciduous and mixed forests, woodland edges, swamps, and disturbed areas including suburban gardens and urban environments. They favor areas with dense brush, fallen logs, and den sites such as tree cavities, brush piles, or abandoned burrows, from sea level to approximately 2,000 m elevation.
Distribution
Virginia opossums range from Central America through the United States and into southern Canada, with established populations expanding northward. They are highly adaptable, thriving equally in undisturbed forests and human-modified landscapes across their range.
Diet
Opossums are omnivorous scavengers eating carrion, small vertebrates, invertebrates, fruits, and vegetation; they actively hunt rodents, insects, and bird eggs, with fruit and plant matter comprising a larger proportion in autumn and winter.
Behaviour
Virginia opossums are primarily nocturnal and solitary, becoming more active during cooler months and in response to food availability. They are slow-moving but persistent foragers; when threatened, they exhibit a distinctive immobilization response ('playing possum') rather than aggression.
Hunting tips
Look for sign including distinctive hand-like five-toed front tracks, scats near feeding areas, and claw marks on trees or logs. Approach slowly along woodland edges and disturbed areas at dusk or dawn when opossums are most active; use a light to locate eye-shine in vegetation at night. Stalk quietly from downwind, as opossums rely more on smell and hearing than vision.
Whole weight
This species is logged by whole weight — the animal weighed entire, as taken.
Where it is hunted
Listed as huntable in 1 country in Huntify.
Names in other languages
- noVirginiaopossum
- svVirginiaopossum
- daVirginiaopossum
- fiVirginianopossum
- deVirginia-Opossum
- frOpossum de Virginie
- esZarigüeya norteamericana
Current language: en
These field notes are general species knowledge, not legal advice. Always check the current seasons, quotas and firearm rules where you hunt.