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There are 65 different species of opossums. Only one of these lives in North America. The Didelphis Virginiana, known as the Virginia Opossum is North America's only marsupial. Unlike so many marsupials of today, the opossum is doing well for the following reasons:

1. It is adaptable and able to eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, insects, small vertebrates etc. For this reason it does well in urban areas.
2. Even though it is attacked by a large number of predators, man being the worst, the opossum does breed rapidly and the ones that are killed are soon replaced.
3. It can sometime escape being killed by "playing opossum" or playing dead. It will simply lie on its side with its tongue hanging out of its mouth and its eyes shut. By doing this, it allows itself to be mauled about until the killer loses interest and leaves. If the opossum is not badly injured, when the threat of danger has passed, he will get up and go on about his business.
4. The opossum dens are located in a variety of areas including stumps, haystacks, vine tangles, attics, garages, road culverts, hollow trees, rock piles, crannies, under buildings, and in the abandoned burrows of other animals. Opossums are not territorial and do not maintain separate home ranges.