Possums are Everywhere

by Glenn, Barbara, Sarah, Lorraine, Judy, Beverley, Mike, Sharon, Mel, Toria,
(Waterdown, Swansea, Milverton, Milton, Oakville, Georgetown, Frankford, Richmond Hill, North York, Shelburn, Toronto, London)

Barbara in Swansea area of Toronto said ... I spotted a possum twice in the last week in a hilly secluded treed area after dark in the residential area. I stopped & then silently & slowly walked by in order not to startle it. I often spot skunks this year crossing the residential streets after dark also. In previous years raccoons were everywhere and I rarely see them this year. Perhaps it's because the city has replaced garbage cans with tamper-proof cans. I guess the furry little creatures moved on. I do miss seeing them.

Glenn Sherwood from Waterdown Almost every night a solitary little possum makes the rounds of our backyard, crossing the back deck and porch area.....seems to have taken up residence under the deck.

Sarah from Milverton said ... There was a full grown (quite large) possum in my enclosed porch last night. To be honest this possum was so large it scared me at first glance. I didn't realize they could get so large. He was quite interested in the empty liquor bottles in my recycling bin.

One of our readers from Milton said ... we feed a feral cat and baby possum spotted running around the past year....well, he is in feral cat house and he is huge....thought raccoons were eating leftover cat food...but obviously not a baby anymore. He is huge. Probably best he is removed and taken to wooded area north of 401. We have another feral kitten and needs cat house, will need to make another one I guess. Can't relocate possum in the winter.

Lorraine from Oakville wrote ... the Possum we saw must have been frozen in the cold last winter. Saw him poke his nose out of the hole ... he was hiding under the deck. Should I have had him removed and transported to a safer place?

One of our readers from Georgetown wrote to tell us of her experience last winter ... On January 19th there was a large possum on our patio gleaning peanuts that have dropped from the bird feeder. We were surprised to see it as we have sighted them occasionally in the summer but not in winter. There has been some clearing of land nearby and we wondered if the possum had been disturbed by this. We have since learned that they do not hibernate.

Judy D from Frankford, Ontario, wrote to say ... One evening there was an animal sitting on the top rail of the fence near our bird feeder. At first I thought it was a small raccoon but it didn't have the facial markings of a raccoon. I then realized that it was an opossum. It sat on the fence for a long time without moving, even though I'd put out some meat for it. This is the first opossum I've ever seen, I didn't know they lived in this area but after reading your site I realize that they do.

Beverley from Richmond Hill said ... this is the second time a Possum has been on my garden fence. The last time I had a visit was 2 years ago in the summer. That was when much of the forest around the Richmond Hill Observatory was decimated for another housing development. This one was around 10 lbs and the dogs went wild in the house!

Mike Glancy from North York said ... early this morning at about 6:30 am I saw one walking along the front of our house headed towards an area I oftentimes see skunks shelter under a garden shed. We have groundhogs, skunks, rabbits, raccoons and the odd fox in our yard. We live near a large ravine. This is the first time have seen a possum around here.

Sharon O'G from Shelburn wrote ... we saw our first possum back in 2007 and have not seen one since until today. Our neighbour had one on their back deck last month. We live in Shelburne Ontario. This little guy (or gal) is very fat and well fed. We have a creek behind us, and that is where we see him. Do they not sleep over winter?

Mel from Toronto said ... we saw a Possum as we pulled into our driveway at 9:00 pm last night. Poor wee thing ran, but our headlights outlined him or her perfectly. We live in the Beach area of Toronto.

Toria from Vienna, Ontario, said ... went to the barn tonight to bring in the horses and found a possum sound asleep (or playing dead) on the floor in my hay barn. he showed no signs of waking or acknowledged that myself, my husband, our cats or dog were checking him out. We moved here about 2 1/2 years ago and aside from finding numerous dead on the side of the road, this is the first time I have found one who was alive and willing to venture onto our property let alone snooze in the hay barn.

A reader from London said ... we have a possum living in our backyard. When it's a warm day in the winter (close to the 0 degrees and above) it comes out at night to eat under our bird feeder.

Thank you for sending us this information - I'm sorry it has taken so long to publish on our website.

I will also post this on our facebook page.