THE OPOSSUMS 



BY DR. R. W. SHUFELDT, C. M. Z. S. 



AT THE present time opossums may be found in 

 suitable localities from New York to northern 

 Florida, and as far westward as Texas; it is said 

 that they seem to be extending their range somewhat to 

 the northward. In scientific and in popular literature 

 few American mammals have figured more frequently, its 

 great rival being without question the racoon. 'Possum 

 hunts have taken place all over the South ever since 

 the country was settled, and the incidents which have 

 occurred during these exciting times have furnished 

 food for song and story since the days of the colonies. 



Throughout the South 'possum is held in high esteem 

 for its flesh, but more particularly by the negroes, and 

 by them the animal is most 

 persistently hunted. Being 

 largely nocturnal in its 

 habits, these stirring affairs 

 usually take place at night, 

 when a party is formed, the 

 dogs mustered, and the hunt- 

 ers, armed with sticks and 

 guided by torches and lan- 

 terns, start out, a merry 

 party, for the forests known 

 to be haunted by these cun- 

 ning marauders. The bark- 

 ing dogs are employed to 

 tree the 'possums, who, in 

 their fright, will shin up 

 anything from the weakest 

 sapling to a big gum tree or 

 pecan. In any event, either 

 the victim must be shaken 

 out, or one of the party must 

 climb up and shove him out, 

 and to this the irritated ani- 

 mal often seriously objects, 

 snapping and growling at his 

 assailant like a big rat in- 

 deed, at such times he is not 

 unlike one of them. However, sooner or later down 

 he must come. As he strikes the ground he changes 

 his tactics entirely, and immediately feigns death in a 

 manner so perfect as often to deceive those familiar with 

 this trait of the animal. However, in his present predica- 

 "ment this is of no avail, for one of the hunters quickly 

 pins him down, back uppermost, by placing a stick across 

 his neck, and holding him down dislocates his neck. 

 Then, bagging the game, with a shout the party takes 

 a fresh start, and the dogs search for another trail. 



Mr. Ernest Harold Baynes, who has published some 

 very entertaining chapters about opossums, said of the 

 species that "speed he has none, his fastest gait being 

 a sort of pacing movement which he can sometimes be 



A FULL GROWN VIRGINIA OPOSSUM. ABOUT ONE-FOURTH 

 THE SIZE OF LIFE. ANIMAL LOANED BY MR. EDWARD S. 

 SCHMID, OF WASHINGTON, D. C. PHOTO FROM LIFE BY THE 

 WRITER 



Fig. 1. This cut gives an excellent idea of the appearance of the animal 



ig his way 

 ng reached the end of it 



making his way on a small limb, also the expression of concern at hav 

 ith no chance of escape from his pursuers 



forced into; but his cunning is so great that he can 

 frequently give his enemies the slip. Sometimes he 

 attempts to evade his pursuers by changing his direc- 

 tion, running back along his own trail, and thus throwing 

 them off the scent. But his favorite trick consists of 

 pretending he is dead a ruse known the world over 

 as 'possuming' or 'playing 'possum.' He does this so 

 cleverly that many people to whom the trick was known 

 have gone away and allowed him to escape under the 

 impression that 'this time, at any rate, he really was 

 dead.' No amount of physical pain can make him be- 

 tray himself ; and it sometimes seems impossible that 

 any animal could submit to the torture he has at times 



been subjected to." 



A number of years ago, 

 the writer had a female 

 opossum in captivity for a 

 long time, and she gave him 

 the opportunity of studying 

 many of the habits of the 

 animal. At the time she was 

 taken she had nine young 

 ones, each about the size of 

 a rat one-third grown. On 

 different occasions photo- 

 graphs were obtained of all 

 of them, those of the mother 

 not being particularly good, 

 but successful in the case of 

 the young. One of the lat- 

 ter illustrate the present 

 article. 



Speaking of the young, it 

 is a well-known fact that the 

 opossum is a wonderfully 

 prolific animal, producing all 

 the way from six to seven- 

 teen at a birth, and often 

 in the South breeding as 

 many as three times a year. 

 The young are born at a very early stage of their de- 

 velopment, and weigh but from three to four grains 

 each, being quite hairless, and their eyes tightly closed. 

 As fast as they appear, the mother shoves them into her 

 marsupial pouch with her snout, where each quickly 

 seizes onto a nipple; here they are nursed and grow 

 with great rapidity. At the end of a week they are said 

 to weigh thirty grains each ; and by the time a month 

 has passed, they occasionally climb in and out of the 

 pouch, being at this time the cutest little creatures im- 

 aginable. In nature, an old opossum is known to take 

 very good care of her litter; but for some reason they 

 appear to be rather neglectful when in captivity. 



Confirming what is said above, a writer at hand 



