Hey Texarkana, Did You Know These Cool Facts About Opossums?

In my neighborhood, over the past year or so, my husband and I have seen an opossum or two travel through our backyard late at night as they look for food. But it wasn't until late last summer that I started to find out just how cool these animals are and how beneficial they are to have in our neighborhoods in Texarkana and everywhere!

Opossums Are The Only Marsupial Native to North America

First of all, did you know that Opossums are the only marsupials native to North America? Marsupial females have a pouch for their babies, like kangaroos.

Do Opossums Carry Rabies?

They rarely contract rabies because their body temperature is too low for the virus to survive. Snake bites? They are not a worry of theirs. They are resistant to most venomous snake bites. How cool is that?

An Opossum's Tail is More Than Just a Tail

Yeah, their tail may look like a rat's tail, but did you know that an opossum's tail can act as another limb? It's called a prehensile tail, and tt helps them climb and balance. They can also use it to grasp and hold things. But if they lose a big part of their tail, they can't survive in the wild.

Opossums Are Nature's Pest Controllers

Opossums are also great at pest control. They eat bugs and an estimated 5,000 ticks in a season! They eat rats, mice, snakes and roadkill! Plus, plant matter like leaves and roots.

My Opossums in Texarkana

My Opossums, Pete and Patrick, both love grapes! I know they don't know who I am or what I am doing on 'their' foraging grounds, but they do know that there is a bowl of fresh water and a special bowl in my backyard that magically fills up with dry cat food and grapes every evening!

Back in December, I was worried about those sweet fellas with the cold weather coming in, so I made a shelter for them. (You can see below in a gallery of photos to show you how to make one)

A few weeks ago, I was watching Patrick eat, and I noticed his belly was getting big and not the kind of belly where you indulged too much during the holidays. No, this was a belly like he had babies!

So, Patrick became Patty. Then this past weekend, as Patty was walking to her food, I noticed she had little tails sticking out of her belly area, which is where the pouch is located!

Get our free mobile app

Opossum Babies

When opossum babies are born, they are super tiny and they crawl their way to their momma's pouch. When they get too big for the pouch, they crawl out and hitch a ride on their momma's back. That is exactly what I saw the other night! It was an amazing sight to see.

I have always felt quite blessed to watch one of God's coolest creatures in my yard enjoying grapes. But to see 7 babies on her back? For her to feel safe enough to bring them into my backyard and let me see them? Wow!

So if you see an opossum in your yard, don't bother it. Let it go about its business, eating bugs and ticks. If you want to encourage it to stay in your backyard or close to your house, just put some cat food out and grapes...Oh, they love grapes!

Please remember, these are wild animals, and we want to keep them that way. Don't try to pet them or pick them up, just enjoy watching them!