Better Possum than Never

by Jackie, Paulina, Ralph, Andrew, John, Simone, Patricia, Kevin, Chris, Jim, Yvonne, Tom
(Trenton, Prince Edward County, Selwyn, Belleville, Dundas, Lakefield, Thornhill, Port Perry, Sparta, Hamilton Mountain, Kettleby, Oshawa)

March 21 – Jackie from Trenton said ... Co-workers and myself spotted an opossum outside our office window, which faces some bushes that lead down to the Trent River; at about 3:15 PM March 21. It seemed kind of wobbly, but looked healthy enough. It disappeared into the underbrush, headed towards the river. Awesome! None of us had ever seen one before!

March 22 – Paulina McMahon ... Saw one today that was live trapped on a neighbour's property in Consecon, Prince Edward County. My neighbour was on his way to release it in the woods.

March 24 – Ralph Colley wrote about his Possum sighting ... We saw a possum in our backyard tonight around 9:45 p.m. Its white face was visible from the living-room lights. It was eating a pomegranate we left out for the robins. We are in Selwyn just outside of Peterborough.

March 25 – Andrew Roy from Belleville said ... 4 am the motion light keeps going on and it's not windy so I look outside and see what I first think is a skunk. But it had a rat-like tail and long snout. The shape was all wrong. Looks like the outline of a opossum, but we don't have those in Canada I thought. Next thing I do is google opossum Ontario, and your page is the first one I read. Well, I was right and very surprised. Thank you for your help.

March 29 – John Smith from Dundas, Ontario said ... I spotted a Possum at my bird feeder 3 nights in row – this was in Dundas.

March 30 – Simone from Angus, Ontario said ... I was startled by a possum that was on my deck. My dogs were making quite a ruckus and I went out to investigate. I am not sure who was startled more, me or the possum.

March 30 – Patricia Tuck from near Lakefield Ontario said ... Wow! My husband just saw a possum on our back deck. It is 10:40 p.m. He called me to the patio window but the critter was gone before I got there. I said noooo. Possums don't live around here! I looked on-line and sure enough, they do! It had just snowed here and the tracks were very clear. We will be on the lookout now to see if we can capture a snapshot of it. This excites me. We have been putting food out for rabbits, ran out of it and put out some dry cat food. We also put out seed for the birds and nuts for squirrels; and wild turkeys visit now and then. I'm looking forward to seeing it.

April 1 – Kevin from Thornhill, Ontario, said ... Looking out the window while talking on the phone and saw this large beige possum running across the back yard. He went down the side of the house and across the road to the neighbours house. Didn't have my camera handy, so I couldn't get a picture. But will be keeping a camera handy in future in case he/she reappears. Will post a picture of our visitor if I can get one.

April 3 Chris from Whitby, Ontario said ... I saw one this morning on Brookdale Crescent, Whitby. Thought it was a rat at first. Great info here, thanks for sharing.

Jim from Port Perry said ... I was driving home from town on Tuesday April 10th., around 10:00 PM. As I turned onto my road my headlights picked up a small animal starting to cross the road. I slowed to a stop when I got up close to it. I recognized it as an opossum from pictures I had seen in an Audubon field guide I have for Florida. I was surprised to see one this far north. Anyway it made its way across the road and disappeared into a farmers field on the other side. Living out in the country we get the opportunity to see a lot of wildlife, but this is one animal I never expected to see in Canada. I just wish I could have snapped a photograph of it to share.
It will just have to be one of those happy memories I can look back on from time to time.

April 16 2017 – Yvonne Taylor from Sparta Ont ...We are located one field north of Lake Erie. , south of London Ontario. There is a big gully that leads down to the lake. I think they live down there, along with a lot of other wildlife. We have bird feeders and the opossums come over at night to clean up the ground under the feeders. We have 3 on a regular basis. We throw out leftovers and fruit and vegetables etc out for them. They seem to eat everything. They don't even run away now when we open the door. My son yells “peanut”! And they come a bit closer. They also love cat food. Don't worry, we don't want to get too close. It was a very mild winter this year and they didn't have much trouble with frostbite. They don't come out on the colder nights. Is there anything you recommend for them to eat to keep them healthy and is it true that they eat a lot of ticks?

April 22 2017 One very large possum trundled under our shed at 7:30 this morning, very white face, good size. He then emerged 2 minutes later and went to the back of the yard. Another little fellow followed him shortly after, not a baby, but a juvenile for sure. The adult was very white faced and his body was white and grey, almost striped looking. The juvenile was all one colour, a dusty grey-brown. Sighting was on east Hamilton mountain, Ontario

Kettleby, Ontario one of our readers, April 29 2017 Just spotted a possum running along the border of the lawn and the forest which our backyard backs onto. It was dusk and the little guy/girl was moving very quickly! Last time I saw one it was crossing the road ever so slow. Was surprised to see how fast this one was moving. We have seen them here occasionally and they do not seem to cause any problem. To bad they did not catch the 16 mice that got into our attic last fall;)

April 30 Tom Sorlie from Oshawa, said ... Near dusk I was looking out the kitchen window and wow I saw an animal I've never seen before making it's way across the backyard. Moving slowly and almost as if it had been hurt. I can't get over how big this animal is. I'm guessing it might be carrying it's babies. I'm going to keep the dog out the front for a few days. Overall impression – this is a big animal.

Thank you all for taking the time to write and tell us about your Possum sightings. I will also post this on our facebook page so that our Facebook followers can also enjoy the info.

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