Possums face a lot of significant dangers when roaming around the wilderness. In this guide, we’re going to explore the large number of animals that pose a threat to opossums. There is a significant list of predators that opossums have to be aware of in the wilderness. You are going to have the chance to learn about the animals that are most likely to eat an opossum.
What Eats Possums?
The list of animals that are predators to opossums includes foxes, wild dogs, coyotes, eagles, bobcats, and badgers. Other large cats and birds of prey may also take the opportunity to eat a possum if food sources are limited.
Almost any animal in the wild that is bigger than an opossum could consider an opossum prey. Facing poor odds of survival against a diverse collection of predators, possums can ‘play dead’ to prevent their predators from attacking. This is one of their greatest assets when it comes to escaping predation.
See our article for Opossum Vs Possum to understand why both spellings are acceptable even though they are different animals.
What Kills a Possum?
Possums are small animals that struggle to survive against millions of larger animals that live in similar local environments. The most common predators for a possum can include birds, foxes, coyotes, and even wild dogs or cats.
Coyotes and foxes will happily take the opportunity to eat an opossum, but they don’t always live in the same types of environments. Foxes are commonly found around possums, but coyotes may be less likely to live adjacent to large populations of possums.
With that being said, opossums can even face unexpected dangers from stray dogs or cats. If opossums somehow come onto a household property, a domestic dog or cat could decide to kill or eat the opossum out of instinct.
Predators for Australian Possums
Some other predators might also eat possums. Due to primarily being located in regions like Australia and New Zealand, it’s possible that Australian possums could be eaten by dingoes and even snakes or lizards. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that some types of birds would also be able to kill and eat a possum.
Larger animals can find it harder to hunt possums because they are small and quick. The biggest problem for possums is that they don’t have the best vision, so they can face vision challenges when compared to other animals. Due to this poor vision sense, possums try to only emerge from their shelter at night when it is dark.
By only coming out at night, the disadvantage they face from their vision is somewhat eliminated. It doesn’t change the fact that possums still face terrible odds of survival with such a large amount of predators. Source.
Do Humans Eat Possums | What Eats Possums?
Possums would likely be considered an ‘exotic food’, mainly because it’s not the most common type of animal that someone would think about cooking and eating. With that being said, it’s certainly possible to eat an opossum if you cook it the right way.
It’s important to take certain precautions before eating opossums to make sure that it doesn’t carry any harmful bacteria, viruses, or disease. You can harm your own health if you don’t follow certain steps before eating opossums.
Cooking possum meat to the appropriate temperature is required before you can safely eat it. This process will eliminate the harmful bacteria that may otherwise exist. You need to make sure that all parts of the meat reach the temperature, including the inside. Professional cooking thermometers are recommended for this process.
What Do Possums Taste Like?
Predators usually don’t think about the taste of their prey while hunting, they simply think about survival. But since humans also eat possums on rare occasions, one worthy question might be about the taste of a possum.
The limited number of people that have eaten possum have described the taste to be similar to that of a duck. Eating duck is a bit more common than eating possum, but the tastes are supposedly similar. The meat is rich and flavorful. While I would never eat a possum, it makes sense that some people in the world hunt to survive.
Do Raccoons eat Possums?
Raccoons are opportunistic feeders and will kill and eat a possum. Opossum babies are the most at threat to animals like raccoons. If the babies are unattended, a raccoon could sneak up prey on the babies.
Even a full-grown possum could end up as prey for raccoons because raccoons are just big enough to overpower them. This is one of the biggest problems the possum faces. In the wild, many predators are bigger in size, strength, and can see better than they can.
Related Questions
How many different types of animals eat possums?
A significant amount of wild animals are willing to eat possums. The list can include snakes, birds, dogs, cats, coyotes, bobcats, and just about any other medium-sized animal that lives in similar environments.
Are opossums trapped for their fur? Possums are trapped for fur and the fur industry is responsible for a large number of opossums being killed. Other indigenous people may also hunt or trap possums for fur and survival.
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