Creatures of the Night: Raccoons and Opossums

October 8, 2025

By: Steve Dishman, Interpreter

It’s a chilly October evening. The sun has set and it’s getting dark. You’re walking on a nature trail at one of the Metroparks when you hear a rustle in the leaves. Before your imagination goes wild, you see it. The creature! It’s a nocturnal mammal!

Opossums and Raccoons are fascinating creatures. They are both commonly found in all of our Metroparks. Let’s start by exploring raccoons.

Remarkable Raccoons

The Raccoon is only found here in the Americas, and it has a look all its own. From its black-masked face to its hand-like paw to its striped tail, it is no mistaken for any other creature. During the day, they find a place where they won’t be disturbed, usually in a hollow tree, so that when night falls, their day begins. Raccoons are omnivores, which means they consume both plant and animal matter. Their favorite foods tend to be frogs and crayfish which they catch with their quick paws. To clear up a misconception, raccoons do not wash their food. They do sometimes use water, but this is to help the raccoon feel which parts of its food are edible.

Raccoons have long, flexible fingers and are adept at learning how to get into human and pet food, garbage, and other potentially tasty treats. It’s a myth that they wash all their food but as tactile creatures, they use water to help them figure out what is edible and what isn’t.

Virginia Opossums: Marvelous Marsupials

Virginia opossums have an undeservedly negative reputation! These creatures of the night are part of the scavenger “clean up” crew, seeking out and consuming dead things. They look fierce with their toothy grins, but they mostly play dead when threatened.

Yes, you heard that right. Virginia Opossums are the only marsupial in the United States and Canada, and you can find them almost anywhere. Look for gray and white fur and a pink naked tail to positively identify them. Some of the remarkable things about opossums are their adaptations for living as well as evading capture. The pink tail of a Virginia Opossum is a called a semi-prehensile tail, which means it is flexible, and it assists in climbing, much like a 5^th leg! Opossums will show their teeth (they have fifty) and hiss and snarl to protect themselves. If that doesn’t work, they lay sideways, close their eyes, and keep their mouth open with their tongue. This adaptation generally keeps interested predators away.

Virginia opossums are well adapted to human-dominated landscapes, both urban and rural. They eat a diverse diet and because they are nocturnal, they spend their days sleeping under cover where most humans never even see them!

Living with our Wild Nighttime Neighbors

Both raccoons and opossums are well-adapted to our backyards, parks, and urban streets as well. While they generally don’t cause humans any harm, they can be troublesome neighbors. Both raccoons and opossums are happy to scavenge for human food, garbage, pet food, bird seed, and other tasty treats- the more we can make these things hard to get, the better off we’ll be. Keeping garbage and pet food securely closed, in containers with tight-fitting lids, will go far in managing for nocturnal visitors.

Eliminating the use of rodenticides near homes and businesses can protect nocturnal wildlife. While tempting to think that a baited rodent trap will only harm the targeted rat or mouse, poison quickly moves up the food chain. Not only can raccoons or opossums become fatally ill, other nighttime predators like owls and even neighborhood pets and stray domesticated animals can be killed by directly consuming the bait or taking advantage of a quick meal of poisoned rodent.

So, under a moonlit night, don’t be afraid. Go out for a walk and see if you can spy any raccoons and opossums, two endlessly fascinating Creatures of the Night.

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