Editing Virginia opossum (section)

=== Diet ===
[[File:Possum rejects bagel.webm|thumb|Night camera shows video of an opossum considering a bagel before walking away]]
Opossums are [[Omnivore|omnivorous]] (sometimes said to be [[insectivorous]]) and eat a wide range of plant-based food, as well as animal-based food like small invertebrates, [[carrion]], eggs, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, small mammals, and other small animals.<ref name=":102">{{Cite web|date=2018-01-05|title=Virginia opossum|url=https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/virginia-opossum|access-date=2020-09-28|website=Smithsonian's National Zoo|language=en}}</ref>

[[Insects]] such as grasshoppers, crickets, and beetles make up the bulk of the animal foods eaten by opossums.<ref name=":112">{{Cite web|title=Opossum {{!}} Adirondack Ecological Center {{!}} SUNY ESF {{!}} College of Environmental Science and Forestry|url=https://www.esf.edu/aec/adks/mammals/opossum.htm#:~:text=Social%20system%20-%20Opossums%20are%20solitary,may%20share%20a%20winter%20den.|access-date=2020-09-28|website=www.esf.edu}}</ref> It has been stated that opossums eat up to 95% of the [[tick]]s they encounter<ref name=":92"/><ref name=":13">{{Cite web|last=Maurer|first=Steph|title=The Helpful Opossum {{!}} Wildlife Medical Clinic at Illinois|url=https://vetmed.illinois.edu/wildlife/2019/06/05/the-helpful-opossum-2/|access-date=2022-04-24|language=en-US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210716193836/https://vetmed.illinois.edu/wildlife/2019/06/05/the-helpful-opossum-2/ |archive-date=2021-07-16 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and may eat up to 5,000 ticks per season, helping to prevent the spread of tick-born illnesses, including [[Lyme disease]] and [[Rocky Mountain spotted fever]].<ref name=":13" /> This interpretation has been challenged.<ref name="Hennessy2021">{{cite journal |last1=Hennessy |first1=C. |last2=Hild |first2=K. |date=September 2021 |title=Are Virginia opossums really ecological traps for ticks? Groundtruthing laboratory observations |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1877959X21001333 |journal=Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases |volume=12 |issue=5 |page=101780 |doi=10.1016/j.ttbdis.2021.101780 |pmid=34298355 |access-date=2022-04-20}}</ref>  A widely publicized 2009 study by the [[Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies|Cary Institute]] indicated that Virginia opossums in a laboratory setting could eat thousands of ticks per week [[Personal grooming#In animals|grooming]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kirchner |first1=Jane |title=Opossums: Unsung Heroes in the Fight Against Ticks and Lyme Disease |url=https://blog.nwf.org/2017/06/opossums-unsung-heroes-in-the-fight-against-ticks-and-lyme-disease/ |website=National Wildlife Federation |date=13 June 2017 |access-date=26 August 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Bayly |first1=Julia |title=Turns out, opossums may not actually like eating ticks |url=https://www.bangordailynews.com/2022/03/24/homestead/turns-out-opossums-dont-really-like-eating-ticks-xoasq1i29i/ |access-date=27 October 2022 |work=Bangor Daily News |date=24 March 2022}}</ref> However, subsequent studies of the stomach contents of wild Virginia opossums have not found any ticks in their diet.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hennessy |first1=Cecilia |last2=Hild | first2=Kaitlyn |title=Are Virginia opossums really ecological traps for ticks? Groundtruthing laboratory observations |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34298355/ |journal=Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases |date=15 July 2021 |volume=12 |issue=5 |page=101780 |doi=10.1016/j.ttbdis.2021.101780 |pmid=34298355 |access-date=18 January 2021}}</ref>

Small animals include young rabbits, meadow voles, mice, rats, birds, snakes, lizards, frogs, fish, crayfish, gastropods, and earthworms.<ref name=":12">{{Cite web|title=Opossum Management Guidelines--UC IPM|url=http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74123.html#:~:text=Opossums%20carry%20diseases%20such%20as,fleas,%20especially%20in%20urban%20environments.|access-date=2020-09-28|website=ipm.ucanr.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chesapeakebay.net/S=0/fieldguide/critter/virginia_opossum|title=Virginia Opossum &#124; Chesapeake Bay Program|website=www.chesapeakebay.net}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lafeber.com/vet/basic-information-sheet-virginia-opossum/|title=Basic Information Sheet: Virginia Opossum|date=June 11, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://aaric.org/2020/09/11/virginia-opossum/|title=Virginia opossum|date=September 11, 2020}}</ref><ref name="Martina">{{Cite web|url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Didelphis_virginiana/|title=Didelphis virginiana (Virginia opossum)|first=Leila Siciliano|last=Martina|website=Animal Diversity Web}}</ref> The Virginia opossum has been found to be very resistant to snake venom.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Sharon A. Jansa|author2=Robert S. Voss|year=2011|title=Adaptive evolution of the venom-targeted vWF protein in opossums that eat pitvipers|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=6|issue=6|pages=e20997|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0020997|pmc=3120824|pmid=21731638|bibcode=2011PLoSO...620997J|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=":13" /> Attracted to carrion on the side of the highway, opossums are at an increased risk of being hit by motor vehicles.<ref name=":142"/>

Plant foods are mainly eaten in late summer, autumn, and early winter.<ref name=":112"/> These include raspberries, blackberries, apples, acorns, beechnuts, seeds, grains, bulbs, and vegetables.<ref name=":112"/><ref name="Martina"/> [[Diospyros virginiana|Persimmons]] are one of the opossum's favorite foods during the autumn.<ref>Sparano, Vin T. 2000. The Complete outdoors encyclopedia. St. Martin's Press. {{ISBN|0-312-26722-3}}</ref> Opossums in urban areas scavenge from bird feeders, vegetable gardens, compost piles, garbage cans, and food dishes intended for dogs and cats.<ref name=":112"/><ref name=":12" />[[File:Possum122708.JPG|thumb|Virginia opossum in northeastern Ohio]]

Opossums in captivity are known to engage in [[cannibalism]], though this is probably uncommon in the wild.<ref>[http://www.opossumsocietyus.org/cannibalism_in_the_opossum.htm Cannibalism in the Opossum]. Opossum Society. Accessed May 7, 2007.</ref> Because of this, placing an injured opossum in a confined space with its healthy counterparts is inadvisable.