The Possum

..... they came to Ontario as tourists
and decided to stay!

The Possum, or Opossum, is not native to this part of Southern Ontario, but began to arrive here several decades ago, from the USA, and appears to be breeding successfully in this area.

One of the most interesting sites I have found that gives lots of information is The Possum Pages which has everything you might want to know about this, the only North American marsupial.

The Opossum of North America is a different species than it's Australian cousin, although, both are marsupials which means that they give birth to babies at a very early stage of development.

At birth, these little critters are about the size of a Kidney Bean!

The young then crawl to the mother's pouch and latch onto a nipple, where they stay and feed for about 2 months, until they emerge from the pouch to face the outside world.

Here in Southern Ontario these little creatures are mostly seen at night, as they check out the garbage cans for dinner, or at the side of the road, dead.

They have adapted to living with people in the countryside and in small towns, but have not adapted to the presence of fast moving cars.

Sadly, hundreds of them are killed each year on our roads and highways.

In the past few decades, it seems that some poor unsuspecting Opossums have taken a nap on a stationary train or truck somewhere in the Southern States, and woken up to find themselves in Canada, with no way for them to get back.

These reluctant little immigrants settle in, breed and manage quite well in their first summer here, but when the cold winter arrives things get tough for these little marsupials.

Several of our readers have sent reports to us, about their Possum sightings, which you can read by following the links below.

Lisa tells us about the Large rat-like animal she spotted, and a reader from Orangeville reported seeing a Small white animal by the side of the road.

We saw a Possum! was sent to us by Explorer from Brampton, and Paul tells us there are Possums in Barrie

Margaret in Brampton says she saw Another Possum in Brampton and Fernando from Cambridge says he told the one he saw to Get out of my garage! and Lori from Bowmanville had a Backyard visitor late one night!

Three other reports came to use recently, of sightings, which you can read - a reader from Odessa, just west of Kingston, Ontario, said she had a Possum sighting two readers, Colin & Claudia sent this information More sightings

They are not well adapted for our cold northern winters and here in Southern Ontario I have seen some animals with bits of their ears and tails missing, due to frost-bite, however, they are still here and seem to be growing in numbers.

POSSUM FACTS

According to the Opossum Society, litter size can be up to 13 babies, and the mothers feed their babies in their pouch for 2 - 3 months.

They are then carried around on the mother's back for another 1 - 2 months.

Adults are about the size of an average house cat and are solitary, nocturnal and gray in colour.

Although they prefer to avoid confrontation, these gentle, placid little creatures will hiss, growl and show their teeth when cornered!

They are true omnivores and will eat insects, snails, rodents, berries, fruit, grass and leaves, eggs and vegetables.

They suffer predation by dogs, cats, Hawks, and Owls, and of course, humans (and cars).

The National Opossum Society has lots of information and photos about this little creature, its lifestyle and habits.