America’s Most Misunderstood Marsupial

Updated at 3:48 p.m. ET on July 21, 2022

When she makes her nighttime appearance—in a leafy corner of the yard, maybe, or along a power line slung across an alley—you’ll see her eyes first, two bright-greenish orbs, floating side by side in the gloom. Your own eyes will adjust to size up her lurking silhouette: two ratty ears, candy-corn teeth, a loaf of a body, and a spindly tail behind her. She might gape or hiss like she craves human flesh, sending shivers up your spine. At first glance, this lumbering night creature might seem more foe than friend. But look closer and take her in: a harmless opossum, in all her scruffy glory.

While the opossum has become a beloved internet meme—appearing as an or an —in real life, she remains misunderstood, provoking fear or disgust when she should inspire wonder. Because the fundamental truth about the opossum is that she is