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Virginia opossum

Didelphis virginiana · also called opossum and possum · Last checked November 3, 2026.

A grizzled gray opossum with a white face, pink nose and long bare tail walks across snow.
Opossum walking on snow, showing grizzled gray fur and long scaly tail Photo: Shirley Zundell · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

The Virginia opossum is North America's only marsupial: a house-cat-sized animal with grayish fur, a long pointed nose, hairless ears and a grasping, nearly hairless tail. It is mostly nocturnal. When threatened it may hiss, growl or "play possum", and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission says opossums are highly resistant to rabies. Official sources place it across most of the US east of the Rocky Mountains and on the West Coast, where it was introduced (California, Oregon). Outdoor Alabama

On this page
  1. Is it dangerous?
  2. How to identify it
  3. Where it lives
  4. When it is active
  5. Habitat and habits
  6. Legal status and reporting
  7. Questions
  8. Sources

Is the Virginia opossum dangerous?

NCWRC: opossums are highly resistant to rabies; healthy ones can look sick to people unfamiliar with their behavior. Seeing one in daytime is not a cause for concern, but one out in the open for a long time or walking in tight circles may be hurt or sick: contact a licensed small mammal rehabilitator. N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission

“Opossums are highly resistant to rabies, but even healthy ones can appear sick to people who are unfamiliar with their normal behavior.”

Bites and stings: NCWRC describes the threat display: when threatened an opossum first faces the predator with its mouth open and hisses or growls; stressed or cornered opossums hiss and drool.

How to identify a Virginia opossum

A photo or description can narrow it down, but cannot confirm what an animal is or that it is safe. Look from a distance and do not handle wild animals.

Close-up of an opossum's white face with pink nose, dark eyes and black rounded ears among leaves.
Opossum peering out from tree branches, showing white face and black ears Photo: Diana Foreman · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
An opossum stands on a tree branch among leaves, its pink-toed feet wrapped around the bark.
Opossum climbing a tree branch, gripping with bare pink feet Photo: Diana Foreman · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
An opossum walks along a concrete wall base with many small young clinging to her back.
Female opossum carrying a litter of young on her back Photo: Millie Basden · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

Size: Weighs 4 to 7 lb and stands 6 to 8 inches high at the shoulder (South Carolina DNR); about the size of a house cat South Carolina Department of Natural Resources

Colors: general grayish-white appearance: white underfur with black tips and long white guard hairs; ranges from light gray to nearly black. Pattern: grizzled gray fur; ears, feet and tail without fur.

Key features

Young

Young ride in the pouch, then on the mother's back; at about 7 inches body length (not counting the tail) they are weaned and on their own

Where the Virginia opossum lives

Texas: on the state's official listCalifornia: on the state's official list (nonnative)Kentucky: on the state's official listWisconsin: on the state's official listOregon: nonnative, on an official sourceMissouri: on the state's official listVirginia: on an official sourceTennessee: on the state's official listLouisiana: on the state's official listNew York: on the state's official listIdaho: on the state's official listFlorida: on the state's official listIllinois: on the state's official listMontana: on the state's official list (nonnative)Minnesota: on the state's official listMaryland: on the state's official listIowa: on the state's official listOhio: on the state's official listNebraska: on the state's official listWashington: on the state's official list (nonnative)South Dakota: on the state's official listArkansas: on the state's official listMississippi: on the state's official listColorado: on the state's official listNorth Carolina: on the state's official listOklahoma: on the state's official listWyoming: on the state's official listWest Virginia: on the state's official listIndiana: on the state's official listMassachusetts: on the state's official listNorth Dakota: on the state's official listPennsylvania: on the state's official listSouth Carolina: on the state's official listMaine: on the state's official listRhode Island: on the state's official listConnecticut: on the state's official listNew Mexico: on the state's official listAlabama: on the state's official listKansas: on the state's official listVermont: on the state's official listArizona: on the state's official list
Official presence. 41 states where a state list or official source names it. Gray means no official record in our data, not that it is absent.
  • Native or listed
  • Nonnative or not established
  • No official record in our data
Texas: 1,274 recordsCalifornia: 839 recordsKentucky: 69 recordsGeorgia: 146 recordsWisconsin: 153 recordsOregon: 116 recordsMissouri: 72 recordsVirginia: 185 recordsTennessee: 117 recordsLouisiana: 132 recordsNew York: 488 recordsIdaho: 1 recordFlorida: 419 recordsIllinois: 159 recordsMinnesota: 69 recordsMaryland: 92 recordsIowa: 36 recordsOhio: 293 recordsNebraska: 87 recordsWashington: 69 recordsSouth Dakota: 12 recordsArkansas: 34 recordsMississippi: 49 recordsNorth Carolina: 505 recordsOklahoma: 62 recordsWest Virginia: 32 recordsIndiana: 89 recordsMassachusetts: 68 recordsPennsylvania: 147 recordsSouth Carolina: 41 recordsMaine: 7 recordsRhode Island: 2 recordsConnecticut: 116 recordsMichigan: 95 recordsDelaware: 13 recordsAlabama: 96 recordsKansas: 31 recordsVermont: 57 recordsNew Jersey: 47 recordsNew Hampshire: 48 recordsArizona: 6 records
Observation records. Open-licence records on GBIF in 41 states. Records are sightings people shared, not confirmation that a population lives there.
  • 1–9
  • 10–99
  • 100–999
  • 1,000+

On our state guides

State boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file cb_2024_us_state_20m.

When it is active

Primarily nocturnal; spends daylight in a den or old squirrel nest. Does not hibernate but may stay in a den during short spells of extreme cold N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission

US open-licence records peak in January to May and September to October.

6,590 US records by month (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY). Shows when people record it, not how many there are.

Habitat and habits

Habitat: Many habitats, including deciduous forest, open woods and farmland; prefers wet areas such as marshes, swamps and stream and river bottoms; also common in residential areas Outdoor Alabama

Behavior: Solitary except in mating season. When grabbed and shaken by a predator it feigns death ("playing possum"), defecating and releasing a foul-smelling greenish substance; the coma-like state can last up to four hours

Diet: Omnivore; the most varied diet of all furbearers, insects most important; also fruit, crayfish, snails, worms, frogs, carrion, mice, snakes, bird eggs

Young: Breeds January through August; gestation 13 days; average litter 7 to 11; young leave the pouch at about 80 days and are weaned at 95 to 100 days (South Carolina DNR)

Legal status and reporting

Protection: North Carolina: game species furbearer with seasons and limits N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission

Invasive status: Introduced (not native) in Oregon and California, per the state agencies; neither source calls it invasive Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

Report: Injured or orphaned: NCWRC says contact a licensed small mammal rehabilitator if you find live young in a dead female's pouch, lone young smaller than 7 inches, or an obviously injured opossum N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission

Questions about the Virginia opossum

Opossum rabies

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission says opossums are highly resistant to rabies, though healthy ones can look sick to people who do not know their normal waddling gait. One out in the open for a long time or walking in tight circles may be hurt or sick; NCWRC advises contacting a licensed small mammal rehabilitator.

Opossum lifespan

South Carolina DNR gives a life expectancy of approximately 2 to 4 years.

Opossum diet

Opossums are omnivores. South Carolina DNR calls their diet the most varied of all furbearers, with insects most important, plus fruit, crayfish, snails, worms, frogs, salamanders, carrion, mice, snakes and bird eggs. NCWRC adds that they can eat copperheads, rattlesnakes and cottonmouths with minimal risk from the venom.

Opossum babies

Newborn opossums are about the size of a navy bean and crawl into the mother's pouch, where they stay about 55 to 60 days, then ride on her back for another four to six weeks (Alabama DCNR). NCWRC says young about 7 inches long (not counting the tail) are weaned and able to survive on their own.

Opossum vs possum

In the US, "possum" is a common name for the same animal: Alabama DCNR lists "Possum" as another name for the opossum (Didelphis virginiana).

Opossum invasive species oregon

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife says the Virginia opossum was introduced in Oregon between 1910 and 1921, apparently from released pets or novelty animals, and populations became established in northwestern Oregon. ODFW calls it introduced; it does not use the word invasive on that page.

Sources

  1. Opossum. Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (Outdoor Alabama). undated page; checked November 3, 2026.
    Quoted passages (2)
    “The opossum has an opposable thumb-like hallux on each rear foot.”
    “The opossum lives in a wide-variety of habitats including deciduous forest, open woods and farmland. It tends to prefer wet areas like marshes, swamps and stream and river bottoms.”
  2. Virginia Opossum (NCWRC species page). N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. undated page; checked November 3, 2026.
    Quoted passages (8)
    “Opossums are highly resistant to rabies, but even healthy ones can appear sick to people who are unfamiliar with their normal behavior.”
    “The Virginia opossum is a small mammal about the size of a house cat with a long, pointed nose, black hairless ears, dark eyes and a nearly hairless tail adapted to grasping objects (called ‘prehensile’).”
    “The Virginia opossum has a total of 50 teeth, more than any other North American mammal.”
    “By the time their body is about 7 inches long, not including the tail (about the length of an adult human’s hand), young opossums are weaned and able to survive on their own.”
    “If a predator grabs and shakes the opossum, the opossum will feign death while defecating and emitting a foul-smelling greenish substance from its anal glands.”
    “Opossums are primarily nocturnal and generally spend the daylight hours in a den or abandoned squirrel nest. Although opossums do not hibernate, they may remain in a den during short periods of extremely cold weather.”
    “The Virgina opossum is a game species furbearer with seasons and limits.”
    “If you find live young in a dead female opossum's pouch, lone young smaller than 7 inches, or any opossum that is obviously injured, contact a licensed small mammal rehabilitator for help.”
  3. Opossum. South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. undated page; checked November 3, 2026.
    Quoted passages (3)
    “The opossum weighs 4 to 7 lbs. and stands 6 to 8 inches high at the shoulder.”
    “The opossum diet is the most varied of all furbearers, with insects being the most important item.”
    “The opossum is polygamous, breeding from January through August.”
  4. Virginia Opossum (MyODFW species page). Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. undated page; checked November 3, 2026.
    Quoted passages (1)
    “Populations were established in northwestern Oregon apparently from releases of animals brought to the state as pets or novelties.”
  5. Complete List of Amphibian, Reptile, Bird and Mammal Species in California. California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CWHR Program). 2016-05 (document dated "May, 2016"; checked November 3, 2026.
  6. Mammals of Ohio Field Guide (Publication 5344). Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife. PUBLICATION 5344; checked November 3, 2026.
    Quoted passages (1)
    “It has a long, scaly tail, ears without fur, and a long, pointed snout that ends in a pink nose.”
  7. GBIF.org occurrence records, human observations licensed CC0 1.0 or CC BY 4.0 only, accessed November 3, 2026. The datasets behind these counts are listed on our Sources page.
  8. State boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file cb_2024_us_state_20m.