192 POUCHED MAMMALS 



tap on the head or back, and it stretches out, limp, motionless 

 and seemingly quite dead. Its breath is so short and feeble 

 the thick fur almost conceals the chest movement. 



When but a lad I killed my firsi Opossum in an Indiana 

 forest, and had carried it by the tail for half a mile when we 

 came to a rail fence. In climbing through, I noticed that the 

 front claws of my Opossum caught on a rail and held fast in a 

 manner highly unbecoming in an animal that was honestly 

 and sincerely dead. A close examination revealed the fact 

 that my victim was only nominally dead. In other words, it 

 was fully alive and sharply watching for a chance to escape. 

 This discovery led me to keep the animal alive in confinement, 

 until finally it did escape. 



The Virginia Opossum is the species found in the United 

 States, from New York to Florida, and westward through 

 the southern states to Texas. In Mexico and tropical 

 America several other species are found. Notwithstanding 

 the persistent destruction of the Opossum, both for moonlight 

 sport and for food, it still manages to survive throughout 

 its entire original range, and bids fair to outlive the native 

 American. The persistence with which the Opossum keeps 

 up its numerical strength in the face of persecution is al- 

 most beyond belief. In 1911 C. M. Lampson & Co. of 

 London handled 1,011,824 skins of our friend the Virginia 

 Opossum. 



As a pet, or cage animal, the Opossum shows off very poorly, 

 and is rather uninteresting. In the daytime its sole desire 

 is to curl up into a furry ball and sleep. If disturbed, it opens 

 its pink mouth very widely, in silent protest, and as soon as 



