270 ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS. 
nature seeks to attain by so anomalous a formation, are 
secrets that still remain to be unravelled. 
In its native state the Virginian Opossum has all the 
habits that are characteristic of the group to which it 
belongs. It lives in trees, feeds on birds, insects, and 
fruits, and sometimes carries its attacks into the neigh- 
bouring farm-yards. In captivity it is listless, indolent, 
and careless of the objects by which it is surrounded ; 
but is snappish when disturbed, and evinces no dispo- 
sition towards familiarity. 
