The Virginia opossum is North America’s only native marsupial, and its recent New Mexico record is thin and scattered: three records from Bernalillo County, where Rio Grande Valley State Park follows the river’s cottonwood bosque through Albuquerque, and one each from Doña Ana County in the south and San Juan County in the northwest. Wooded, water-adjacent lowland like that is what this adaptable omnivore favors in an otherwise dry state.
Only 5 records fall between 2000 and 2026, placing the species among New Mexico’s least-recorded mammals. They land in April, June, October, and November, too few to show any seasonal pattern; a single new report could change the picture.
NatureServe doesn’t assign the opossum a numeric conservation rank in New Mexico (SNA, Not Applicable), even though it’s treated as native to the state. That’s typical for a wide-ranging generalist whose New Mexico range has likely expanded alongside irrigation and development, not one facing any conservation concern.
Full species profile
