GENERAL NOTES 
109 
GENERAL NOTES 
OPOSSUM IN VERMONT 
A full grown opossum was caught by A. A. Roberts, a professional trapper, at 
Dorset, Vermont, in the heart of the Green Mountains, in mid-December, 1920, 
long after the ground and streams had become frozen. The skin was seen by the 
writer. It was lightly furred, indicating that perhaps the animal had been in 
captivity, but inquiries in the locality and an item placed in local newspapers 
failed to locate any person who had had one of the animals as a pet. I can find 
no other record for the taking of this animal in Vermont, which is far north of 
its usual range. — George L. Kirk, Rutland, Vermont. 
OPOSSUM CARRIES LEAVES WITH ITS TAIL 
A number of years ago five living opossums were sent to the Field Museum of 
Natural History from southern Illinois. In the lot were one nearly grown 
female and four young, not her own, about the size of large house rats. After 
arrival they were kept temporarily in a wire-covered barrel. The second night 
the large female literally “ate alive’’ one of the young, and afterwards forced 
her escape from the barrel. She had eaten the hind quarters of the unfortunate 
youngster without first killing him, as attested by his contorted carcass and awful 
facial grimace when found cold and stiff next day. 
After this episode I kept only one young opossum alive, in order to make a 
few studies from life of so curious a mammal. When the fall days began to grow 
cold I gave this fellow a thick carpet of autumn leaves in his box cage. Though 
he ate heartily of meat scraps, fruits, and vegetables, he was not contented. 
When not sound asleep in his favorite corner he pounded solemnly around and 
around his cage like a wild tiger, with a funny preoccupied look on his grinning 
face. One morning when I glanced into his cage I was surprised to see him 
pacing around his beat with a large bunch of leaves tightly rolled up in his long, 
prehensile tail. He carried this bundle so long, around and around in tireless 
pace, that I left him without learning the object of his action. Later he repeated 
JOUBNAL OP MAMMALOGY, VOL. 2 , NO. 2 
