Natural History
LIFE
Virginia opossums are the only native marsupial species found in the United States. These mammals typically have thick gray fur with long, white-tipped guard hairs, though their coloration may vary based on their range. Adults can reach 2 to 3 feet in length (including their tails) and can weight 4-12 pounds. Their prehensile tails are long, around 93% as long as their head to body length, and are used as an additional limb to help climb. Additionally, their hind feet have an opposable big toe that functions like a human thumb. They have 50 teeth, the most out of any land mammal on this continent.

Exact breeding season depends on an individual's location but typically lasts anywhere from 6 to 8 months. Each female can have 1 to 3 litters per year, consisting of anywhere from 1 to 13 kits. After only two weeks, the blind, hairless, underdeveloped kits are born and must crawl into their mother's pouch for further development. Many do not survive the trip to the pouch. Once in the pouch, kits will remain attached to one of their mother's 13 nipples for 50 to 70 days. Past this point, opossums will typically stay with their mother for a few weeks and can be seen staying in their den or riding on their mother's back. 

Once fully independent, Virginia opossums are solitary and do not come together until the following breeding season. Sexual maturity is reached between 6 months to a year old. In the wild, their life span is typically 1.5 to 2 years. When faced with danger, young opossums will "play possum", meaning they enter a defensive catatonic state and remain motionless ranging from 1 minute up to 6 hours. However, as they get older, it is more common for them to bare their teeth or flee the scene. 

HABITAT AND RANGE
Virginia opossums can be found all throughout Iowa. Their natural habitat includes woodlands, swamps, and streams. Because they are highly adaptable, they can also be found in urban areas, abandoned buildings, agricultural fields, and more.​

DIET
Virginia opossums are opportunistic feeders, meaning they adapt their feeding habits based on the availability of food sources. Their diet consists of vertebrates, invertebrates, plant material, fruits, grains, and carrion (decaying plant and animal material).

CONSERVATION STATUS
Species of Least Concern. ILLEGAL to import, transport, or possess them as pets in the state of Iowa. LEGAL to hunt/trap with a valid hunting and/or trapping and fur harvesting license during open season.

Source: Siciliano, Martina L. (2013). "Didelphis virginiana" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed 2025 at 
https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Didelphis_virginiana/

Posie's Story
Posie the opossum was rescued and reared at the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines, Iowa, after her and her two brothers fell out of her mother's pouch. Because her and her siblings had become habituated to humans from a young age, their caretakers worried they would lack the natural fear and survival skills necessary and were deemed unfit to release. ​Her brothers are ambassador animals at the Blank Park Zoo. Posie joined the Hartman Reserve family in the summer of 2025 and will spend her whole life with us!