If you’ve ever seen a possum quickly scurrying across the road or through your backyard at night, you may have wondered — are possums actually fast animals? At first glance, with their small size, stubby legs, and portly build, possums don’t appear built for speed.
If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer to your question: Although possums are not particularly fast runners compared to many other animals, they are capable of short bursts of speed which helps them escape predators and search for food. Their top running speed is around 7 mph.
An Overview of Possum Speed
Top Running Speed
When sprinting in short bursts over short distances, possums can reach top speeds of around 9 mph (according to Wildlife Informer). This allows them to escape predators and dangers quickly when needed. However, they cannot maintain these high speeds for very long without tiring.
Short Bursts vs Distance Running
Possums are built for short, fast sprints rather than extended runs. With their small legs and bodies, they tire easily. While capable of a quick burst of speed, their endurance wavers quickly (per the National Opossum Society).
Still, this fast start allows them to escape threats temporarily and survive.
In comparison, possums tend to amble along slowly while foraging or wandering. Their more common pace is only around 3-4 mph for daily movement. It is only when danger arises that they sprint at their top speeds.
How Their Body Type Impacts Speed
A possum’s body type indicates they are not meant for speed but rather climbing ability. They have smaller legs and feet without high muscle mass or stride length for speed. Their bigger tail actually slows them down.
With excellent climbing skills and grip though, possums rely on trees and hiding to avoid predators more than simply outrunning threats (as stated by the Opossum Society).
Still, possums can achieve short quick bursts when pressed to escape dangers like cars, dogs, foxes, or coyotes. Their top speed of nearly 10 mph, while not extremely fast, gives them a chance to survive short chases before finding safety out of reach.
How Fast Can Possums Run?
When it comes to raw speed, possums are not the quickest animals in the wilderness. However, what they lack in pure velocity, they make up for in nimbleness and agility. Possums are well-adapted escape artists that can navigate difficult terrain and small spaces with ease.
Speed Compared to Other Animals
In an all-out sprint, a possum can reach speeds of around 7-9 mph. This makes them quicker than raccoons, skunks, and porcupines. However, they pale in comparison to true speedsters like deer, coyotes, and foxes. Those animals can hit speeds over 40 mph when necessary.
Here’s how the top speed of a few common wild animals stacks up:
Animal | Top Speed (mph) |
---|---|
Deer | 45 |
Coyote | 43 |
Fox | 42 |
Possum | 9 |
Raccoon | 15 |
Skunk | 10 |
Porcupine | 3 |
As the table shows, possums are much slower in a sprint compared to foxes, coyotes, and deer. However, flat-out running is not their strong suit. Possums rely more on their nimble movements and ability to crawl into tight spaces in order to escape predators.
Factors That Influence Their Speed
A few key factors impact how fast possums can move when necessary:
- Age & Health: Like all animals, aging possums tend to lose some speed and agility. Injured or sick possums will also move slower.
- Weather & Habitat: Slick terrain like wet leaves or ice can cause possums to lose traction and slow down. Dense brush and woodlands also impede their top pace.
- Distance of Sprint: Possums tire quickly when running all-out. They can only hit top speeds for a few seconds, not sustaining their top pace over longer distances.
Essentially, a young, healthy possum fleeing a predator in ideal terrain over a short sprint would represent the peak running speed for the species. Average day-to-day movements and foraging is much slower, only 2-3 mph on open ground.
To learn more on variations in possum speeds, visit this detailed wildlife site.
When and Why Possums Need Speed
Escaping Predators
Possums rely on their quickness and agility to escape predators like dogs, foxes, coyotes, bobcats, and owls. When threatened, possums can run up to 7 mph for short bursts to dart away and find safety in the trees or their dens. This allows them to escape becoming dinner for hungry predators!
Interestingly, possums may sometimes use a defensive “playing possum” strategy where they play dead to fool predators into thinking they are not a tasty meal. However, they still depend on their capable running abilities if discovered or if playing dead does not work.
Finding Food
Possums need to cover a lot of ground each night to locate sufficient food sources. They have varied diets consisting of insects, snails, rodents, eggs, fruits, plants, garbage, and carrion. Possums can travel up to 2 miles per night using their quick and nimble movements to hunt for prey and ingredients to fuel up.
Urban possums may not need to travel as far thanks to easily available food waste provided by humans. But rural possums rely more on their running speed to find scattered natural food across their territory.
Migrating
During winter months in cold northern climates, possums may migrate to more suitable habitats. They have been recorded traveling up to 9 miles in a season on these migratory journeys seeking warmer temperatures and plentiful food.
Possums rely on being fleet-footed to successfully reach new environments better able to sustain them. Their quickness allows them to evade predators and hazards along the migration pathway to their seasonal homes.
Other Aspects of Possum Agility
Climbing Abilities
Possums are incredibly adept climbers thanks to their sharp claws, flexible tails, and grippy paws (1). They can scale trees, fences, walls, and other structures with ease to reach food sources or escape predators.
According to wildlife experts, possums are such talented climbers that they can scale a rough wall surface with a 90 degree incline without falling! (2)
A key factor in possums’ climbing talents is their prehensile tails—which can wrap around branches—along with their opposable thumbs and flexible paws. Their tails give them excellent balance and stability when navigating difficult terrain.
Interestingly, baby possums can hang solely by their tails at just 5 weeks old. (3) Without a doubt, the possum’s grip and tail are major assets when it comes to climbing prowess.
Swimming Skills
While known more for climbing and dwelling on land, possums are actually decent swimmers as well. They can dog paddle at slow speeds and tread water for quite some time. This gives them an important survival skill if they happen to fall into rivers or lakes while crossing or seeking food.
According to wildlife research from the University of Michigan (4), possums engage in a unique “buoyant bipedalism” when swimming. Essentially they use their tails and back feet to propel themselves while keeping their front feet and head raised above the waterline to breathe easily.
So while they may not win any Olympic medals, possums are more than capable aquatic escapers if needed!
Reaction Time
For an animal of modest size without blazing land speed, reaction time and agility are critical assets possums utilize to avoid threats and survive in the wild. They must react quickly to sensed danger whether it be a predator attack or an oncoming car while crossing the street.
One study focused on neurons fired following auditory stimuli found that possums react to sounds in as little as 110-130 milliseconds on average (5). Researchers characterized this reaction time as “very rapid sensory processing” for a marsupial.
Along with their physical maneuverability, this rapid processing gives possums a key advantage to escape danger quickly using their reflexes and change of direction capabilities.
Conclusion
While possums are not blazing fast compared to many other mammals, they are capable of short bursts of speed that serve their purposes well. Their bodies and lifestyles do not demand extreme running speed, but rather allow possums to be well-adapted survivalists that can escape threats and thrive in a variety of environments.