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Expedition 🇺🇸 United States

Opossum in United States

North America's only marsupial — a slow-moving night wanderer that plays dead, eats ticks, and thrives quietly in suburban backyards.

Opossum

The species

The Virginia opossum is a primitive-looking marsupial that has spread across the eastern and central United States, turning attics, woodpiles, and alleyways into nightly foraging routes. With a hairless prehensile tail, pointed snout, and fifty sharp teeth, it looks ancient — and in evolutionary terms, it is.

Habitat in United States

Opossums are generalists of temperate woodland, farmland edges, and urban neighbourhoods. They den in hollow logs, crawl spaces, and brush piles, emerging at night to eat fruit, insects, carrion, and pet food left outdoors.

Where to spot one

  • Central Park

    New York City

    Urban ponds for mallards, pigeons on the paths, and sparrows in every shrub — a compact starter loop in Manhattan.

  • Golden Gate Park

    San Francisco

    Lakes, meadows, and tree cover where common birds and park wildlife turn an afternoon stroll into a discovery session.

  • Suburban Park Systems

    Nationwide

    Local green spaces across the US — pond edges, playground perimeters, and dog-walking trails where the everyday species gather.

  • Neighbourhood Streets

    Nationwide

    Front gardens, fence lines, and café patios — where house cats watch from walls and sparrows squabble over crumbs.

Conservation status

LC — Least Concern

Virginia opossums are Least Concern and expanding northward as winters warm. They are frequently killed by cars but reproduce quickly enough that populations remain stable.

Keep exploring

Keep exploring

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