What Do Opossums Eat?

The common opossum has a broad diet, which includes invertebrates, vertebrates, fruits, and nectar. This mammal also feeds on carrion.

• This opossum is found in Central and South America.
• The common opossum is notable for its thick fur and long whiskers.
• The common opossum can be found in tropical habitats, especially mountains, forests, and rainforests.

The Virginia opossum’s diet constitutes of plants, small invertebrates, vertebrates, and carrion.

• The Virginia Opossum is notable for its short legs and a thick coat of fur lining its body.
• This marsupial can be found in an array of habitats that include woodlands, deciduous forests, and farmlands.
• It can also be found in wet regions like marshes and swamps.

The diet of Philander opossum constitutes of reptiles, birds as well as their eggs, small mammals, snails, earthworms, insects, freshwater crustaceans, fruits, and carrion.

• This organism is also referred to as the Gray four-eyed opossum.
• The name is deduced from the fact that the bodies these small mammals are covered by a gray coat.
• The Philander opossum has a wide distribution in Central and South American countries.
• This opossum inhabits rainforests, scrub forests, swampy areas, and agricultural lands.

The big-eared opossum feeds on a vast diet consisting of small animals (earthworms, mollusks, crustaceans, and lizards), small mammals and plant matter (barks, fruits, nuts, seeds, and nectar).

• This opossum pretty much resembles the common opossum and past classification studies considered as a sub-species of the common opossum.
• It is also known as the Brazilian common opossum.
• The big-eared opossum is notable for its facial marks and big naked black ears.
• This opossum is endemic to South America, especially in Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay.
• The big-eared opossum inhabits rainforests and secondary forests in the Atlantic. They can also be found in shrubland and highlands,.

Opossums use their evolved strong sense of smell to hunt.

• Their long snouts come in handy to sniff out and capture prey like insects, eggs, and spiders.
• Other species are adapted to survive in their ecosystems. For instance, the amphibious opossum that is endemic to South America has a unique adaptation to help it find food.
• These creatures have webbed feet, which help them wade on water bodies like streams, lakes, and rivers, sniff and capture their prey.

Opossums are considered to be nocturnal foragers.

• These small mammals are active during nightfall when they are busy looking for their food.
• During winter, they have been noted to outstretch their activity to the daylight periods.

How often opossums eat depends on an array of factors.

• For instance, during harsh weather like winter, opossums slow down.
• The implication from this is that they will tend to eat less often but will forage for food for survival.
• Overall, these organisms tend to consume vertebrates frequently.

• Opossums are a delicious meal to a large number of organisms that include domestic cats, some eagles, some owl species (barn, great-horned, and striped), domesticated cats and dogs, margays, rattlesnakes, some hawks, jaguarundis, and wolves.
• Humans also hunt opossums for its fur.
• Younger opossums are more susceptible to the above predators compared to the adults.

Opossums are essential to the animal food chain.

• They are a vital source of protein to organisms that fed on them, and this includes organisms like domestic cats and dogs, rattlesnakes, some birds (owls, eagles, and hawks), wolves, and even humans.
• Opossums prey on a vast range of small organisms including spiders, insects, mice, rats, and snails, thus keeping the populations of these organisms under check.