Wyoming Isn't Known For Having Opossums But It's Got At Least One

Wyoming isn’t known to have an established population of opossums, but perhaps that’s changing as evidenced by one showing up in a Pine Bluffs family’s garage.

The opossum showed up last week and hung around long enough for the Carlson family to give it a name — Pearl, Caitlin Carlson told Cowboy State Daily. 

Pearl hasn’t been seen for a few days, but the family doesn’t discount the possibility that she, or he, might eventually return. 

The opossum apparently has a fondness for cat food, and the family has plenty of that, Carlson said. 

Two Neighboring States Have Them

The family’s opossum visit was indeed rare for Wyoming, but not entirely unheard of in the southeastern part of the state, Wyoming Game and Fish spokesperson Stephanie Estell told Cowboy State Daily. 

Wyoming isn’t listed among the roughly 25 states known to have a permanent population of the housecat-sized critters. But two neighboring states have them, Nebraska and Colorado. 

Opossums are well-established in Nebraska and range across the state, according to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. 

Since Pine Bluffs is on the far eastern side of Laramie County right at the Nebraska state line, that’s probably where Pearl came from. 

Colorado’s opossum population is newer and only in the far eastern part of that state, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW).

“The species first appeared in the southeastern corner of the state in 1903; its present range is in the eastern two-fifths of the state,” according to CPW. 

However, opossums are known to wander. Though they are primarily thought of as an Eastern and Southern U.S. species, there have been reports of them as far west as Washington state. 

Opossums are rumored to be immune to rabies, but that’s not entirely true. 

They have an unusually high resistance to the dreaded disease, probably because of their normally low body temperature, Nebraska Game and Parks reports.

They’re also marsupials, a sub-group of mammals that includes kangaroos, because mother opossums have pouches for their young. 

And they don’t hibernate during the winter; hence, one showing up in a Wyoming garage on a chilly November day. 

“Playing possum” (pretending to be dead) is also really a thing, but the critters don’t do it deliberately, according to Nebraska Game and Parks. Instead, they involuntarily shut down into a catatonic state when stressed, likely to discourage predators. 

Social Media Darling

Carlson said her mother was the first to spot Pearl in the garage, and she had a hard time believing it, until she saw the opossum for herself. 

“Definitely a weird moment,” she said, adding that “it’s not afraid of cats.”

During the visit, Pearl didn’t cause much of a ruckus, except for gorging on some cat food, Carlson said. The wayward opossum mostly hung out behind a workbench in the garage. 

And regardless of whether she wanted it, Pearl earned an impressive social media following, Carlson said. 

When she posted some photos of the opossum online, “it went viral fast,” she said.

Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.