i84 THE WORLD OF ANIMAL LIFE 



THE OPOSSUM 



Almost all the Marsupials, or pouch-bearing animals, such as 

 the kangaroo, live in Australia and the neighbouring islands. The 

 group, however, is divided into several families, and the members 

 of one family, strange to say, live, not in Australia, but in different 

 parts of North and South America. 



These are the Opossums, and very curious creatures they are. 

 In one respect they are very much like the famous spider- 

 monkeys, which also live in America ; for they have long prehensile 

 tails, which can be twisted tightly round a branch, and so are very 

 useful in climbing. These tails are covered, not with hair, but 

 with scales, like those of rats and mice; and they are so strong 

 that an opossum will often suspend itself from a bough by its tail 

 alone, and hang quietly for several minutes while busily occupied 

 in gathering and eating the fruit which is growing below. 



But opossums do not live on fruit alone. Indeed, there is 

 scarcely any kind of food which they will not eat. Birds, small 

 mammals, reptiles, frogs, and insects — none of these come amiss to 

 their voracious appetites. To poultry-keepers they are especially 

 troublesome, for they make their way into the hen-roosts night 

 after night, and devour both the fowls and their eggs. And they 

 are so wary and clever that it is almost impossible to keep 

 them out. 



Fruit-growers and farmers in the southern parts of North 

 America find them a terrible pest, for scarcely a night passes in 

 which numbers of the mischievous little animals do not rob their 

 orchards and fields. Every few weeks, therefore, a grand 

 '"possum hunt'' is arranged. All the negroes who work on the 

 plantation are allowed to come, and soon after sunset a number 

 of men and dogs set out in search of the marauders. 



A moonlight night is always chosen for the sport, as then the 

 animals can easily be seen when they take to the trees. Before 

 long the dogs, which are carefully trained to the work, find an 

 opossum, which at once seeks refuge in the nearest tree, while its 

 pursuers stand barking below. The hunters hurry to the spot. 



