Opossum - 'Hobo'

This is HOBO, a female Opossum, about 3-4 years old. Hobo is a special needs individual, because of broken toes and injuries she received to her ribs and back after being hit by a car. She was given to us because she is non-releasable. She will be hands-on for our educational programs, and we are delighted to have her!

Opossums have been around for at least 70 million years and are one of Earth's oldest surviving mammals! Nicknamed the living fossil, the Opossum dates back to the days of the dinosaur.

Opossums are not related to rats. They are marsupials and are exceptionally clean, and fastidiously groom themselves. Opossums are extremely resistant to disease. They have a strong resistance to rabies and snake bites, including rattlesnakes. The Opossum has grey to black fur; black eyes; black ears; a pink nose, feet and tail; a triangular head, and a long pointed nose.

The Opossum is North America's only marsupial mammal (the female has a pouch). They are born blind, embryonic looking, and are about the size of a navy bean or bee. The newborn crawls unaided to its mother's pouch, where it firmly attaches to a nipple. The baby stays in its mother's pouch for another 7 weeks until it is large enough to detach itself from the nipple, and then the mother will carry her babies on her back for another 1 to 2 months when she prowls for food each night.

The Opossum is solitary and nocturnal. It is a non-aggressive, slow moving creature, and generally will flee from danger. The Opossum will hiss or growl and show its 50 sharp teeth when frightened. When threatened, it will exhibit behaviors like running, growling, belching, urinating and even defecating. Sometimes, when unable to flee, it will "play 'possum," an involuntary shock-like state. It will roll over, become stiff, drool, and its breathing will become slow and shallow. This coma-like state can last up to four hours. Some predators will think the opossum is dead and go away!

The Opossum lives in a wide-variety of habitats including deciduous forests, open woods and farmland. It tends to prefer wet areas like marshes, swamps and streams. The Opossum can be found in most of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains and on the West Coast. It is also found in Mexico, Central America and in British Columbia, Canada. The Opossum is adaptable and able to live wherever water, food, and shelter exist. It is omnivorous, which means it will eat almost anything - insects, snails, rodents, berries, over-ripe fruit, grasses, leaves, garbage and carrion. Occasionally it eats snakes, ground eggs, corn or other vegetables and other small animals. The Opossum uses its keen sense of smell to locate food.

The Opossum is at home in trees and uses its prehensile tail to help stabilize its position when climbing. It does not, however, hang by its tail. A prehensile tail is used for grasping and wrapping around things like tree limbs. An adult Opossum's body is far too heavy to be held suspended by its tail; their tails aren't strong enough. The common picture of Opossums hanging by their tails is, for the most part, a myth. A young opossum may hang briefly by its tail. The opossum also has opposable hallux, which are like thumbs, on its rear feet. The hallux helps it grasp branches when it climbs.