102 



The N'ahiralist in La Plata. 



than any animal I had ever observed. I have seen 

 an old female opossum (Didelphys azaras) with 

 eleven young, large as old rats — the mother being 

 less than a cat in size — all clinging to various 

 parts of her body ; yet able to climb swiftly and 

 with the greatest agility in the higher branches of 

 a tree. The actual weiu'ht was in this case rela- 



■"::k--- 



Didelphys azairo and yonrig. 



tively much greater than in that of the female bat ; 

 but then the opossum never quitted its hold on 

 the tree, and it also suiipleraented its hand-like 

 feet, fui'nished with crooked claws, \\\\\x its teeth 

 and long ])rehensile tail. The poor b;it had to 

 seek its living in the empty air, pursuing its prey 

 with the swiftness of a swallow, and it seemed 



