Opossums, particularly the Virginia Opossum common across North America, often spark curiosity about their living arrangements. These unique marsupials are recognized by their distinctive appearance and nocturnal habits. Understanding how many opossums typically live together requires exploring their natural behaviors and various stages of life. This article delves into their social patterns, highlighting their independent tendencies and circumstances where they might coexist.
Possums Are Mostly Solitary
Adult Virginia Opossums generally lead solitary lives, preferring to forage and exist independently. This behavior helps them avoid direct competition for resources like food and shelter. By maintaining distance from other individuals, they also minimize the risk of disease transmission, a significant advantage in the wild. Their solitary nature serves as a defense mechanism, making them less conspicuous to predators who might otherwise detect a group more easily.
They typically roam alone, seeking food and moving within their home range. If one opossum encounters another, it usually moves away to prevent conflict. While they may cross paths, especially in areas with abundant food, they do not form social bonds or live in groups outside of specific circumstances.
When Possums Live Together Temporarily
Despite their solitary tendencies, there are distinct, temporary periods when opossums do coexist. The most significant instance is when a mother raises her young. After an 11 to 13-day gestation, tiny, underdeveloped joeys, often numbering between 6 to 9 but sometimes up to 20, are born and immediately crawl into their mother’s pouch. They remain in the pouch, attached to a teat, for about two months.
Once they outgrow the pouch, the young opossums often cling to their mother’s back, riding along as she forages and learning survival skills. This family unit typically stays together until the young are around four to five months old, at which point they become independent and disperse.
Brief interactions also occur during the breeding season, which can span from late winter through early fall, typically peaking between February and June. During this time, male and female opossums seek each other out for mating, with males often making clicking sounds to attract females. Once mating is complete, the male generally leaves, and the female resumes her solitary behavior. On rare occasions, multiple opossums may temporarily share a den for warmth during periods of extreme cold weather.
Choosing a Den
Opossums are adaptable and opportunistic in selecting a den, rarely constructing their own shelters. Instead, they utilize a variety of existing, secure spaces. These can include abandoned burrows, hollow logs, tree cavities, rock crevices, or dense brush piles. In human-populated areas, they often seek refuge in structures such as attics, sheds, garages, or spaces beneath porches and decks.
An individual opossum typically occupies a den for only a few days before moving to a new location. This frequent change of den sites helps them avoid predators and control parasitic build-up. While a particular den site might be used by different opossums over time, it is generally occupied by only one adult, or by a mother with her young.
Differences Among Possum Species
The social behaviors described primarily pertain to the Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana), the only marsupial native to North America. This widely distributed species is characterized by its solitary nature. However, the term “possum” also refers to various species found predominantly in Australia and New Guinea, which exhibit different social structures.
For example, the Common Ringtail Possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus) of Australia is more social than its North American counterpart. These ringtail possums often live in small family groups, which can include an adult male, one or two adult females, and their offspring. They construct communal nests called dreys, made from shredded bark, twigs, and ferns, which they share for shelter. Another Australian species, the Common Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus vulpecula), is largely solitary but may occasionally share dens, particularly in New Zealand where they are an introduced species. These variations highlight the diverse social strategies within the broader “possum” family, adapted to their specific environments.