NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



cessful' introduction on Long Island, New York" ('98a, p. 330;. 

 "The opossum seems to be unknown in this portion of the Catskills 

 [neighborhood of Schoharie valley] though it has been taken near the 

 town of Catskill at the base of the mountains on the Hudson river side " 

 ('98b, p. 360). 



The animal has also been recorded from Crown Point, Essex co. 

 (Fisher, '85a, p. 184), Rochester, Genesee co. (Lucas, '82 p. 7), 

 Weedsport, Cayuga co. (Morehouse, '83 p. 467), Woodside, Long 

 Island (Bragaw, '83 p. 467), Oakdale, Long Island (Fraser, '89 p. 212), 

 Elmira, Chemung co. and Owego, Tioga co. (Loring, '99 p. 71). 

 Hill ('82 p. 403) notes the escape from captivity of 12 individuals at 

 Ithaca, Tompkins co. in 1878 or thereabouts. 



Personally I have never met with the opossum in New York. 



Mr Savage informs me of its occasional occurrence- near Buffalo. That 

 the animal is rare in the region is shown by the local interest its 

 occasional capture arouses. Under date of April 15, 1899, Mr Savage 

 writes: "Two 'possum records have been made within the last six 

 months. One was taken alive at Mill Grove, Erie county, and came 

 into the possession of County Clerk Wende, who is quoted in the news- 

 papers as saying that it is the first opossum ever taken in New York 

 state. The second was taken at Hamburg by Mr Edward Colvin of that 

 place, and is reported in the Buffalo express of Feb. 19, 1899. It is 

 said of this specimen that ' it is the first animal of the specie (sic) 

 shot in this vicinity in 25 years.' " 



Mr Helme says, "About 20 years ago reports began to accumulate of 

 the capture of opossums in various parts of Long Island. In a few 

 years the animal became very common and generally distributed ". 



Re?narks. I have been unable to find the first authentic record of the 

 opossum in New York. De Kay knew the animal as an inhabitant of 

 the state by hearsay only. Audubon and Bachman remark, u We have 

 no doubt that it will in time be found existing to the east of the Hudson 

 in the southern counties of New-York as w r ell as on Long-Island ... as 

 the living animals are constantly carried there ... It has been 

 stated to us that in New-Jersey within 5 or 10 miles of New- York, as 

 many as 10 or 14 of these animals have . . . been taken " ('51 p. 124). 

 Baird in 1858 did not include New York in the animal's range ('58 p. 

 232-33). In recent years however the records are frequent and positive, 

 establishing the opossum on a firm basis among the austral animals that 

 enter the state at its southern and western extremities. It is -highly 



