16 WILD LIFE IN NEW ZEALAND. 



ar. (On the other hand, the true American opossum produces 

 as many as a dozen at a time.) When fully grown the opossum is 



about 18 in. long. It has a thick, bushy tail, about 11 in. long, 

 the end of which is blackish in colour. From this thick tail these 

 animals are sometimes known in Australia as " brush-tailed 

 opossums." The legs are short and strong, and each foot is fur- 

 nished with five fingers or toes. The bodies are covered with close, 

 thick, woolly fur. In the first-named species the upper part of 

 the body is a grizzled-grey colour, with the chin blackish, a rusty 

 patch on the chest, and the rest of the under-surface whitish or 

 yellowish. In the sooty opossum the fur is of a dark brownish- 

 black colour. Otherwise the two species are very like one another. 

 The head is small and somewhat fox-like, with rather short ears. 

 These animals live in trees, taking shelter in holes during the 

 and sometimes they make a kind of rough nest at the bottom of 

 the hole. The trees which they frequent are often marked by the 

 track- .scored on the trunk by the sharp claws of the animals as 

 ;hev climb. They ascend the trees in a succession of jerks or short 

 jumps, stretching out their feet and claws as far as possible on 

 side, and rarely losing their hold. In descending a tree they 

 always come down head first. 



In Australia opossums feed on the leaves .if various species of 

 SticalyptUt (or gum) trees, taking to other food only when these are 

 16 owiiiL' to clearinir of the bush. In New Zealand they feed 

 on whatever the bush supplies them with, chiefly leaves and shoots. 

 Mr. K. Hunt, of Hound Hill, says of them. " The food the opossum 

 lives mi is chiefly leaves of broadleaf. kaniahi. broad-uum (Putinx), 

 mapaii (Pittotporwn), rata-hlussom^ supplejack-berries, berries 

 i'-hsia and makomako. and practically all the seeds and blossoms 

 A in this part of the bush. The opossum is not a u r rass- 

 'iL r animal. It will eat white or red v\>- ethrier shoots 



and seeds, but if an opossum is caged and t'ed on grass it will die of 

 ration. Also, if it were fed on turnips it would take as much 

 to feed twelve opossums as one sheep would eat. When I and my 

 brother were catchiiiL' opossum*, for the Southland Acclimatization 

 Fed them on carrots, boiled wheat, bread, boiled ten- 

 leaves with siiL'ar. and anything sweet. The damage the opossums 

 would do running at lariro would be very little, seeing that they 

 never come on to open country. The animal is blamed for barking 



