© 2024 University of Missouri - KBIA
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Discover Nature: Opossum

Missouri Department of Conservation

This week on Discover Nature, we take a look at Missouri’s cousin to the kangaroo.

The Didelphis virginiana, or the Virginia opossum, is the only marsupial found in Missouri.  These furbearers grow to 2-3 feet in length (including their 9-15 inch-long tails).  They prefer wooded areas near streams for habitat, though they’re common across the state and in urban areas.

Opossums start breeding in February.  They complete a 12-13-day gestation period by the end of this month, giving birth to litters of young – each, blind, and less than a half inch long.  At birth they make their way to their mother’s fur-lined pouch where they nurse until they are weaned in May.

Despite their often ominous hissing when confronted, opossums pose little danger to humans.  In fact, opossums feed on many insects considered injurious by farmers and they also perform an important ecosystem function by feeding on carrion.  Opossums fall prey to foxes, bobcats, owls, and other predators.

Learn more about the Virginia opossum with the Missouri Department of Conservation’s online field guide.

Discover Nature is sponsored by the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Trevor serves as KBIA’s weekday morning host for classical music. He has been involved with local radio since 1990, when he began volunteering as a music and news programmer at KOPN, Columbia's community radio station. Before joining KBIA, Trevor studied social work at Mizzou and earned a masters degree in geography at the University of Alabama. He has worked in community development and in urban and bicycle/pedestrian planning, and recently served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Zambia with his wife, Lisa Groshong. An avid bicycle commuter and jazz fan, Trevor has cycled as far as Colorado and pawed through record bins in three continents.
Related Content