What do you call a group of opossums?

Opossums originated in South America and entered North America in the Great American Interchange following the connection of the two continents. They are usually solitary and nomadic but will stay in one area as long as food and water are easily available. Some families (known as “passels”) will occasionally group together during mating season or while raising their young (joeys).

Despite being the only marsupial found in North America, opossums are often seen in a negative light, due to their lifestyle. As omnivores, jacks (males) and jills (females) hunt out the most convenient meal, often digging through trash, or dining on dead animals, mice, worms, roaches, frogs, birds, and their eggs. Even snakes are on the menu, thanks to opossums’ immunity to most snake venoms.

In addition to being marsupial (with young carried in a pouch) opossums have other unusual features. When threatened or harmed, they will "play possum", mimicking the appearance and smell of a sick or dead animal. This physiological response is involuntary, like fainting, rather than a conscious act; the animal may take as long as 4 hours to revive. Opossums also have thumb-like toes and a whopping 50 teeth (more than any other mammal in North America).

Recently, opossums are being praised for another unusual feat: tick consumption. One opossum can consume as many as 5,000 ticks per year, helping to keep tick populations in check and lowering the risk of tick-borne illnesses in other animals and humans.