Opossums, familiar marsupials across North America, often spark curiosity regarding their interactions with snakes. A common question is whether they regularly kill snakes. This article explores the opossum’s diet, unique biological defenses, and the dynamics of its encounters with snakes.
Opossum Diet and Foraging
Opossums are highly adaptable omnivores, consuming a wide variety of food sources. Their diet typically includes insects, small rodents, birds, eggs, fruits, grains, and carrion. This opportunistic feeding strategy allows them to thrive in diverse habitats, from rural to urban landscapes.
While their diet is broad, snakes are not a primary or regularly hunted food source for opossums. Opossums primarily rely on their sense of smell and touch to locate food, often foraging at night. They utilize their prehensile tails and unique opposable thumbs on their hind feet to climb in search of meals, but they are also adept at finding food on the ground.
Natural Immunity to Snake Venom
Opossums possess a notable biological adaptation: resistance to snake venom. Their blood serum contains specific proteins, including Lethal Toxin-Neutralizing Factor (LTNF), which neutralizes toxins from various snake venoms. This protein effectively binds to venom components, preventing widespread damage within the opossum’s body.
This resistance is particularly effective against venoms from pit vipers, such as rattlesnakes and copperheads. While opossums are highly resistant, their immunity is not absolute. A very large dose of potent venom, or a bite from a particularly large snake, could still overwhelm their defenses.
Opossum and Snake Encounters
Opossums can kill and consume snakes, including venomous ones, but this is typically an opportunistic behavior rather than active hunting. Encounters often occur when a snake is already incapacitated, or when the opossum acts defensively. If an opossum does engage a snake, its resistance to venom allows it to survive bites that would be fatal to many other animals.
Opossums are generally non-aggressive and prefer to avoid confrontation. When threatened, they often feign death, commonly known as “playing possum.” This involuntary response involves going limp, slowing breathing and heart rate, and sometimes emitting a foul-smelling fluid to deter predators. While they have sharp teeth and claws for defense, they are more likely to retreat or play dead than actively fight a snake.