Possums live in my backyard. I saw this one by the bird feeder/bath near a couple scrub oak in the very corner of my yard. Im unsure if its the same family group but for the last 8ish years ive had possums living in my back yard. Once or twice a tear i notice a new mama with babies on my back porch eating the cat food i put out for the couple outdoor cats that took up residence back there. By this time in my area the babies are all grown up and scattered around. I dont have photos but every now and then i find a baby that fell off the mama, and i keep them in a box, feed them kitten formula and then let them go in a week or two.

In captivity Possums live about 4 years. Wild Possums live about two years. They dont suffer from rabies incidences because their body temps are too low for the rabies virus to take hold. They do carry parasites, tularemia , tuberculosis and leptospirosis. Contrary to popular belief, they dont eat actually eat ticks to any degree that they have an effect on the tick population.

Anyway, Happy Mothers Day.