OPOSSUM

[BELLOTABUCKS]

While working in Nogales today i saw what appeared to be an opposum dead in the road in mid town, weasel face pink hairless tail, dark overcoat with blond underneath. I tried to find out about the opposum inhabiting Az but most info was on some virgina opposums being released in tucson a long time ago and eventually were trapped off. Anyone out there know about this animal being in our state, i know there are many many subspecies and they are in mexico and central and south america but I have spent countless hours in our back country and have never seen or heard of a resident opposum here in Arizona, Who can help?

[firstcoueswas80]

They are indeed down south. I have seen 2 or 3 of them. First time I didnt know what in the world it was!

[azpackhorse]

[kpinaz]

I grew up in S. AZ, and spent my whole life hunting/fishing here, and I had my very first opossum encounter last year.

We live in Three Points, west of tucson, and one morning our dogs were barking at something under our house. My son went under to investigate, and yells out that it was a possum. I assumed it was a skunk, and told him so, and he said, "no dad, its a possum..." I told him that it must be a raccoon then(which would still be odd, but not completely unheard of), and he said, "NO DAD, it's a freaking possum, I am looking right at it."

I told him that there are no possums in AZ, so get out of there because it must be a skunk.

He convinced me to pull the skirting off the house nearer to where it was, and I'll be damned if it wasn't a freaking possum!!!!

It was curled up in a little ball, completely ignoring the dogs. So now what? I went to get the .22 to dispatch it, because I didn't want the dogs messing with it, and the wife and daughters vetoed that plan.

So I made a catch pole out of some nylon rope run twice thru a piece of PVC pipe, and slipped it around the little guys neck.

WOW! He was awake after that, and let me tell you that he didn't like that one bit. Those things are UGLY when they are pissed off. And they have some pretty nasty teeth.

We deftly dropped him in the cat carrier, and took him for a ride about 2 miles out into the desert.

 

I thought it was an odd encounter, since I've never seen a possum before in my life, so I wrote an Email to the AZ Sonoran Desert Museum.

They replied back that it was indeed VERY odd, but not impossible. They let me know that there are opossums in N. Mexico, and that this guy was either a migrant(40 miles N of the border?), or just living at the northern edge of the range.

Pretty strange, but cool too!

[firstcoueswas80]

 

 

Wow old man, I was starting to wonder if you were still gracing this world with your presence!

[azpackhorse]

Still kick'n buddy. That poster makes me laugh, thought I would share. I've actually seen a opossum years ago dead on Avra Valley rd. Being from Oregon I knew very well what it was. We used to hunt them at night.

[bowhuntaz1]

There was one dead between Superior and Claypool on Tuesday morning around the Top of The World.

[.270]

i read a few years ago that they had gotten sort of established down around nogales. wonder how long it will take em to put a limit on em? i hope they never have a season. i just don't think it'd be right to put in for possum. i'll bet i'm the only guy here who has eaten possum. it's pretty good, but dang it's greasy. i always make waitresses mad in kentucky when i ask if they have possum on the menu. Lark.

[DCS]

I seen one on the Ruby Rd by the summit motorway about 10-12 years ago while guiding coues hunters.

[azslim]

had a little one at the house for a while when my daughters were volunteering at Adobe Mtn Rehab, per them (G&F) possum's are not native, will hop a ride on a produce truck. The girls called him Opie, would have made Ron Howard proud.......

[Red Rabbit]

oppossum = flat animal that sleeps in the middle of the road.

[Jimmer Negamanee]

Armadillo = Possum on the half shell.