The North American opossum, often simply called a possum, is a resilient marsupial widely distributed across the continent. Known for its adaptable nature, it thrives in varied environments, from forests to urban areas. The chipmunk, a much smaller rodent, frequently shares the same habitats. To understand the dynamics between these two species, it is necessary to examine the opossum’s feeding habits and whether its opportunistic diet extends to preying on the swift-moving chipmunk.
The Opossum’s General Diet
The opossum is classified primarily as an opportunistic omnivore, consuming a wide variety of plant and animal matter available in its surroundings. Its diet is heavily skewed toward easily acquired food sources rather than actively hunted prey. Opossums frequently act as nature’s cleanup crew, consuming significant amounts of carrion, which provides a reliable supply of protein and fat.
Beyond scavenging, the opossum’s menu is incredibly diverse, including insects, snails, worms, and fallen fruits and berries. In developed areas, this adaptability often leads them to consume discarded human food and pet food left outdoors. This preference for accessible, low-effort foraging establishes a behavioral baseline: the opossum is generally more of a scavenger than a dedicated predator.
The opossum’s foraging strategy emphasizes a keen sense of smell rather than sharp vision or high speed. This reliance on scent over active pursuit influences its diet. While they do consume small vertebrates, the bulk of their intake is food that cannot escape, such as stationary plant matter or deceased animals.
Predatory Behavior Toward Small Mammals
Although the opossum is not a highly specialized hunter, it does prey on small live animals, including rodents. Equipped with 50 teeth, more than any other land mammal in North America, it is physically capable of killing small creatures. However, the animal is generally slow-moving, with a top speed of only about 4.5 miles per hour, and typically avoids confrontation.
This lack of speed and agility means that actively pursuing and capturing a healthy, alert chipmunk is inefficient and rare. Predation is most likely when the chipmunk is vulnerable or defenseless, such as when it is injured or incapacitated. In these situations, the opossum’s opportunistic nature takes precedence, and it will readily consume the small rodent.
A more probable scenario involves the opossum raiding a chipmunk’s burrow, particularly when young kits are present in the spring or summer. Chipmunk young are blind and helpless for the first few weeks of life, making them easy targets. The opossum’s ability to use its keen sense of smell to find food underground or within dense cover is a significant factor in these occasional predatory events.
The Role of Activity Timing
The primary ecological factor limiting regular opossum-chipmunk interactions is the difference in their activity cycles. Opossums are strictly nocturnal, beginning their foraging activities after sunset and remaining active throughout the night. This behavior helps them avoid many diurnal predators and take advantage of cooler temperatures.
In contrast, chipmunks are strictly diurnal animals, with their peak activity occurring in the early morning and late afternoon. Their excellent daytime vision allows them to forage efficiently and detect predators, but their night vision is poor. They typically retreat to their underground burrows well before dark and do not emerge again until sunrise.
This timing mismatch acts as a natural barrier to frequent encounters, as one species is active while the other is asleep and sheltered. Encounters are largely restricted to the twilight hours of dawn and dusk, when the opossum is preparing to retire and the chipmunk is just emerging, or vice versa. The most significant overlap occurs when the opossum deliberately seeks out a sleeping chipmunk in its burrow, which is a rare but possible event.
Therefore, while an opossum is physiologically capable of eating a chipmunk, and will certainly do so if it finds a vulnerable one, the combination of its preference for scavenging and the chipmunk’s diurnal habits makes this a highly infrequent event. The two animals generally occupy the same habitat at different times of the day.