Capy Learning Corner

What Do Opossums Eat?

Almost everything, thankfully

Virginia opossums are omnivores and gloriously unfussy: insects, fruit, eggs, carrion, and yes, ticks by the thousands. A single opossum can eat thousands of ticks in a season, which makes the opossum shuffling through your yard a free pest control service.

Nature's cleanup crew

By eating carrion and pests, opossums quietly sanitize the landscapes they move through. Add a body temperature too low for rabies to easily take hold and resistance to many snake venoms, and you have one of the most underrated animals in America.

Meet one and become a fan

Nobody leaves a session with our opossum ambassadors thinking of them as trash animals again. Ten minutes with those little hands and that unbothered face converts everyone.

Go deeper: Virginia Opossum facts and quiz, or browse the full Animal Encyclopedia.