Opossums by the Dozen

by Donna, Candace, Vicki, Wendy, Patti, Donna, Ian, Gordon
(Tillsonburg, Sophiasburg, Wingham, Oshawa, Caledon, Strathroy, Brampton, Keswick, Etobicoke, Collingwood )

We have received several reports of Opossum sightings recently, some of them are below.

Donna Scanlan from Tillsonburg said ... We had left a cupful of birdseed out on the ground for three rabbits that call our backyard home and last night a new visitor appeared around 7 pm. I would guess he or she is a yearling, quick when I opened the back door. I am over 65 raised in the country and have never seen a real Opossum before alive!

Candace from Sophiasburg in Prince Edward County wrote ... my husband had an up-close-and-personal encounter with what was very clearly a Possum in our barn here in Prince Edward County. We are not too sure how it will co-exist with our cats, but if it helps keep the mice and ticks down I don't mind it being there!

Vicki Henderson from Wingham wrote ... we had a possum, walking through the snow, in our back yard tonight (November 15/21). We live in Wingham, Ontario, Canada. Our neighbours had seen one during the summer, but this is the first one we have seen in our yard in about twenty years. Since they are not native to our northern climate, is there anything we can do to help them through our cold winters? Any advice would be very welcome.

Emily wrote ... We live in Innisfil, Ontario and have seen an Opossum living under our neighbour's deck. Both times it was seen at night, about the size of a small cat, but short legs and long nose and mid length tail. Medium grey in colour. It appears to be doing well because it’s now mid November and it appears plump and well nourished. Hope it survives the winter.

One of our readers from Oshawa wrote ... I ordered pizza late at night with contactless delivery. By the time I opened my front door I was scared to see a critter that was not a Raccoon had gotten to my pizza first. Small, grey with a skinny hairless tail. Did some searching and am certain it was a Possum.

Possum spotted in Caledon ... I saw the little creature in my garage - December 11, 2021. Took some time to figure out what it was... having read a few articles about them, it seems to be a beneficial creature. Hope he leaves the garage and finds comfort around the yard...!!!
Wendy Marshman from Strathroy said ... I have 2 Scotties which are hunters. They were barking and went crazy on the deck. I wondered what they were upset about (at 3 am) I had to round them up so out I went. A little possum was on top of a garden fence. I rounded up the dogs. The little possum must have found his way. He was gone in the morning, but the dogs were still on the hunt.

Patty W-P from Brampton wrote ... last night I saw one medium size Opossum scamper around the side of my house. He snuck under the fence and I didn't have boots on to see where he went. I hope he stays and keeps warm enough. We have a birdfeeder so he might get a little food from there. I also saw one in the evening (it was about 8 pm and dark) he was on my deck sniffing around. They were both a little too fast to get pictures by the time I grabbed my cell phone.

Donna from Keswick said ... in my front garden at 10:15 pm on this cold & wet November 14th, I have a few bird feeders hanging as well as a dish of mixed seeds with peanuts & safflower & sunflower seeds & a dish of rabbit pellets & a water bowl. The size of it was a bit spooky. I saw it because it triggered the solar flood light. I did not know they were in this area. I watched it amble off to the ravine in my backyard. I live in the South end of Keswick, Ontario.

One of our readers said ... I just saw a second possum at 11:00 pm in my front garden. This one was considerably smaller with a white face & dark body. The first one tonight was here at 10:15 pm. Perhaps the first one put out a msg advertising the buffet I had. I wonder how many more there are in the ravine in my backyard. Even though this is a populated townhouse development my backyard ravine is well grown with vegetation & is totally fenced in but there are spaces where they can get under the fence. Along with the multitude of bird varieties they will join the families of raccoons, skunks & rabbits that visit my front buffet offering.

Ian wrote to say ... Central Etobicoke, Toronto, Ontario Canada (Kipling and The Westway) Christmas Eve I left a Cake in a box on the deck off the kitchen. At around 9 pm, I saw it sniffing around in front of the sliding glass door. It hung around for about 30 seconds, I thought it was a huge rat at first. I went to grab a camera and then it was gone.

Gordon from Collingwood said ... I was watching TV at midnight and I saw an unusual looking animal looking through our glass basement door. It was almost as large as a Raccoon. Checking images online confirmed that it was an Opossum. It sniffed around the recycling bin and then moved on.

I have also added your report and pictures to our facebook page, where you can read more wildlife sightings Discover Southern Ontario on Facebook