What Is a Group of Opossums Called?
The Virginia opossum is the only marsupial native to the United States and Canada, and like most marsupials, it’s largely a solitary animal. Adult opossums don’t form lasting groups; the closest thing to a genuine “passel” is a mother carrying her young in her pouch and later on her back, before they disperse to live independently, usually by around four to five months old.
“Passel” itself isn’t opossum-specific. It’s an old, informal American variant of “parcel,” used historically for a loosely counted group or bunch of just about anything, people, animals, or objects. Its attachment to opossums seems to be more about a folksy, regional fit than a documented, opossum-specific coinage.
“Playing possum” isn’t a choice. When severely frightened, an opossum can enter an involuntary catatonic state, called thanatosis, in which it appears dead for anywhere from a few minutes to several hours, complete with a foul-smelling fluid released from glands near the tail.
Why Is “Passel” Used for Opossums?
Because opossums don’t have a strong, well-documented natural group behavior the way species like wolves or elephants do, “passel” functions more as a catch-all than a precise behavioral term, similar to how “parcel” or “bunch” get applied to other loosely social or solitary animals on this site. It’s the kind of word chosen because it fit the regional, folksy tone often used for opossums in American vernacular, rather than because opossums are actually observed traveling in groups.
What opossums are genuinely notable for isn’t group behavior, it’s their biology. A female opossum can have up to 13 nipples inside her pouch, but she may give birth to as many as 20 tiny, underdeveloped young at once; only the first to find and attach to a teat survive, a stark and immediate form of natural selection within a single litter.
Opossums have an unusually low body temperature, which makes them highly resistant to rabies infection, and they’re known to eat large numbers of ticks, making them a genuinely useful presence in many backyards.
What Is a Group of Baby Opossums Called?
Baby opossums are called joeys, the same term used for baby kangaroos and other marsupials. Newborn joeys are extremely underdeveloped, barely the size of a honeybee, and must crawl unaided into their mother’s pouch immediately after birth to continue developing while nursing.
Example Sentences
• A passel of opossums was spotted denning under the old porch after the storm.
• The wildlife rehabber cared for an orphaned family of opossums found near the highway.
• Only a handful of joeys from the litter survived to leave the pouch.
Opossum Collective Noun FAQs
What is a group of opossums called?
A group of opossums is called a passel of opossums, an old informal word for a loosely counted group.
Do opossums live in groups?
No, adult opossums are largely solitary; the closest thing to a group is a mother with her joeys before they become independent.
What is a baby opossum called?
A baby opossum is called a joey.
Is “playing possum” something opossums choose to do?
No, it’s an involuntary, fear-triggered response, not a conscious decision, and the opossum has no control over when it starts or ends.
The Bottom Line
A passel of opossums is a fittingly informal name for North America’s only marsupial, an animal better known for playing dead than for hanging around in groups. Whether you call it a passel or simply a family, the real story is in the biology: a pouch full of joeys, a body built to survive being mistaken for dead, and a diet that quietly does your yard a favor.
Related: Collective Nouns for Mammals