The opossum is a uniquely American animal. This animal traces all of its origins to North America, but has made its way into the Central American area. This is an animal that was hunted for centuries after Europeans moved to the New World, primarily for its hide, but also because it became a good food source.
This is important information to know because for the longest time man was chasing the opossum. Now it is really the other way around. While there are still a large number of these animals that are living in rural and forest areas, they have followed the lead of mankind and many have moved to areas where they can readily get food – from us.
Because the opossum will eat just about anything, they can survive in just about any climate in North America. They have the coat to survive in the extreme cold, and they can make homes in some very unique places so that they can avoid being killed by predators.
However, in the wild they are still at a unique disadvantage. Because they cannot see well in the light, they are forced to hunt at night, which is not always the easiest of tasks, despite their senses to be able to survive in this environment.
Because of this, the opossum prefers to live in a place where it can live off of the food that people are making and benefit from the protection that human beings offer it. It is not that humans directly protect them, but that they remove a lot of the predators that would normally attempt to hunt possums. You don’t see a lot of wolves, coyotes or other animals of this type, because they are scared away by people, so the opossum can live much more safely.
They still want room to roam, however, so where you are most likely to find these animals is in rural areas where there are still lots of people around, like farm areas, or in the suburban areas where there are still some forest and trees for the creatures. A lot of these animals have turned to making their own homes inside the homes of people, using their attic, shed, or under the porch as the ideal residence. In farm areas it is very common for them to live in barns or in other manmade structures that have been built.
They then are able to feed off of the stuff that people leave around, like what is in their garbage can or what they feed their own animals. It is the perfect situation for these animals and this is why they want to take advantage of it. They know they will have relative safety and will have a source to a good amount of food.
Read more:
Opossum Control,
How to Get Rid of Opossums,
Opossum Feces.
