Opossum? Oh, Possum!

When I was a kid growing up in Swampeast, Missouri, there was a common cat-sized critter called a possum.  I still remember my amazement when, in school, I learned about a creature whose name was pronounced oh-possum.  With the two names sounding a lot alike, (the latter being almost impossible to say in everyday conversation), I originally thought they might be the same animal.  But there was always the tiniest, little, nagging, scrap of a doubt.

Is an opossum the same thing as a possum?

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To get my answer I sat down to do some research.  I looked through all my natural history books and searched the net in an attempt to finally prove to myself once and for all whether they were the same or different animals.  It was easy to find lots of information on the opossum, but I was forced to rely on my own experience and that of friends and relatives for information on the possum.  Listed below I have juxtaposed the characteristics of the two.

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The opossum is a marsupial.  That’s an impressive sounding name.  The possum’s last name is possum.  I heard what her first name was once when my dad caught one living in our shed, but Pop told me not to repeat it, so I soon forgot what he said. 

Although the possum’s last name isn’t marsupial, she does have a pouch, something I think is distinctive enough to make her stand out at any social gathering.  Mother opossums, I found, also have a pouch, in which they carry their young.  Baby possums, on the other hand, are not carried anywhere, but I’m pretty sure are born dead on the road.

The opossum has a naked, prehensile tail.  The possum has a tail “like a rat,” which it can wrap around stuff.

The opossum has large, dark, conspicuous eyes.  The possum’s eyes are beady.

One of my books says opossums are “found from New York, west to Iowa, south through central Mexico, along the coast to middle Florida and southern New England.”  I don’t think possums are ever found because I don’t know of anyone who has ever lost one.

The opossum has a life span of eight years.  Not so the possum.  She lives only as long as it takes her to find her way to the nearest road.  Although a busy highway is the most popular means to an “end,” if one cannot be found, the possum will make do with a gravel road.

The opossum eats mice and insects, with his favorite food being persimmons.  The possum eats mainly garbage and manure.  Down south we have a saying that bears this out.  When someone has a sheepish grin on his face, we say he’s “grinnin’ like a possum eating…um, manure.”  Well, you get the idea.  And, although possums do truly love persimmons, their favorite food is eggs from my henhouse.

The opossum may sleep in a filthy den in a hollow tree or a burrow.  The possum sleeps in garages, sheds, and hen houses.

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I hope any of you closet naturalists out there have been taking notes.  In case you ever run into one of these two similar beasts, using the above information, you should be able to tell which is which. 

One more thing, if all else fails, the following is the most obvious difference.  The opossum may threaten fight if cornered but is more likely to feign death.  The possum doesn’t bother with such fuss; she just plays possum.

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