06/17/2026
While Mother's Day was well over a month ago now, it is never too late to appreciate the mothers in our lives, both humans and wildlife. Today's highlights a species in our region that has one of the most hard-working moms: the Virginia opossum! This mother was seen carrying her babies around RIT campus last year.
Commonly referred to as just possums, Virginia opossums (Didelphis virginiana) are the only native marsupial native not just to New York state but to the entirety of North America. When we think of marsupials we typically think of koalas or kangaroos down in Australia. Like those species, our opossums nurse their young in pouches when they are first born.
Life as an opossum mother isn't always easy. Adults are very solitary and do not have a permanent home base, instead making temporary dens as they go along. Opossums can have as many as ten babies in their litter, all of which will climb into her pouch to nurse after being born. After about 60 days, the babies will leave the pouch and venture outside... but only as far as their mother's back. For about another month the babies will continuously latch onto the fur of their mom before she finally kicks them out to be independent and start their own lives. Since this mom was seen in June with babies that means they were born during their first breeding season between February and April. She may have another litter during the second breeding season running from May until July.
Opossums are extremely beneficial to their environment as pest control, especially ticks!
