Possums are much maligned by people who fear wildlife, but they're very interesting and special animals, as the only marsupials in the U.S. Please take the opportunity to find out more about possums, who live and die, mostly by night, in our midst. Opossum, common name for any of 77 marsupial mammals found only in the western hemisphere. The Virginia opossum is covered with long, sleek, white hair and an undercoating of soft, woolly fur. It has a pointed, slender face and large, broad, naked ears. An opossum has 50 teeth.
Most species are omnivorous, usually preferring a diet of insects and carrion.
The yapock, or water opossum, of South America is aquatic, having webbed hind feet for swimming. A female opossum may have as many as 17 nipples within the pouch, but 13 is the usual number. Of the 4 to 24 young that may be born in a litter, only 8 or 9 usually survive. They must spend about two months in the mother's pouch attached to the nipples before they are able to move about. The Virginia opossum, found throughout the eastern United States and occasionally in the western states, is edible and considered a delicacy in the South.