59: 



THE POUCHED ANIMALS. 



surrounded by rows of fine scales, between which 



Erotrude a few short, straggling hairs. The female 

 as a perfect pouch. 



The Opossum is a native of America, from the 

 northern United States to Chile and southern Brazil. 

 In the central parts of this vast territory it is found 

 in abundance, and that by no means to the pleasure 

 of Man. It inhabits forests and bushes, and the 

 denser the foliage the more the Opossum delights 

 in its haunts. 

 Audubon's Ac- Andubon says: "Methinks I see one 

 count of the at this moment slowly and cautiously 

 Opossum. trudging over the melting snow, 

 scenting as it goes for the fare its ravenous appetite 

 prefers. Now it has come upon the fresh track of a 

 Grouse or Hare and it raises its muzzle and sniffs 

 the pure air. At length it has decided on its course, 

 and it speeds onward at a rate equaling the speed 

 of a Man's ordinary walk. It stops and seems at a 

 loss in which direction to go, for the object of its 

 pursuit has either taken a considerable leap or has 



and juicy stems it gladly feeds. The matin calls of 

 the wild Turkey-cock delight the ear of the cunning 

 creature, for it well knows that it will soon hear 

 the answering cry of the female and thus be enabled 

 to trace her to her nest, when it will suck the eggs 

 with delight. Traveling through the woods, per- 

 haps on the ground, perhaps aloft, from tree to tree, 

 it hears a cock crow, and its heart swells as it re- 

 members the toothsome food on which it regaled 

 itself last summer in the neighboring farmyard. 

 Thither then the hungry rogue bends its way, and 

 if the opportunity is favorable, it sneaks into the 

 chicken coop." 

 Life and Habits The Opossum is an arboreal animal, 

 oftheOpos- as is shown by its entire equipment, 

 sum. anc j on the ground it is rather slow 



and awkward. Its mode of walking is plantigrade. 

 All its movements are apparently lazy and even its 

 running gait is slow, though it consists in a series of 

 ambling leaps. In the tops of trees, on the other 

 hand, the animal climbs with great precision and 



SPOTTED DASYURE This animal, which is quite common in Australia and Tasmania, has a fox-like head, a stout body the coat of which is 



studded with white spots on a groundwork of soft brown. It is a burrowing animal, hiding by day, and at night living on animals it kills, and also on car- 

 rion. (Dasyurus viverrinus.) 



doubled backward upon its track before the Opos- 

 sum entered. It raises itself up, stands for a while 

 on its hind feet, looks around, sniffs the air again 

 and then proceeds; but now, at the foot of a noble 

 tree, it comes to a full stop. It walks round the 

 base of the large trunk, over the snow-covered roots 

 and among them finds an aperture, which it at once 

 enters. 



" Several minutes elapse, after which it reappears, 

 dragging along the carcass of a Squirrel, and with it 

 in its mouth begins to ascend the tree. Slowly it 

 climbs until it gains a cluster of branches inter- 

 twined with grape-vines, and there, composing itself, 

 it twines its tail round one of the twigs and with its 

 sharp teeth devours the unlucky Squirrel which it 

 holds all the while with its fore paws. 

 The Omnivorous "The pleasant days of spring have 

 Propensities of arrived and the trees vigorously 

 the Opossum. s hoot forth their leaves; but the 

 Opossum seems nearly exhausted by its enforced 

 abstention from food. It visits the margins of 

 creeks and is pleased to see the young Frogs, which 

 afford it a tolerable repast. Gradually the poke- 

 berry and the nettle shoot up and on their tender 



tolerable speed. The great toes, or thumbs, of its 

 hind paws enable it to grasp and hold the limbs of 

 trees, and its prehensile tail greatly assists in secur- 

 ing for the animal stability of position and immu- 

 nity from falls. Not infrequently it suspends itself 

 by means of its tail and stays in that position for 

 hours. 



In the vast, dark woods the Opossum prowls 

 about day and night, though it prefers darkness to 

 light. But when it apprehends danger, or even when 

 daylight annoys it, it appears only by night and 

 sleeps through the day in earth holes or hollow trees. 

 It lives with its mate only during the pairing time, 

 leading a solitary life during the rest of the year, 

 like all its kin. It has no fixed habitation, but uses 

 any cranny which it descries in the morning after 

 having completed its nocturnal wanderings. If for- 

 tune favors it particularly and it finds a burrow in 

 which lives some weak rodent, it is naturally the 

 more pleased; for then the original inhabitant of the 

 dwelling furnishes it with a ready-prepared meal 

 As we can infer from Audubon's description, it feeds 

 on all the smaller mammals and birds it can cap- 

 ture, also on eggs, various reptiles, larger insects and 



