The Opossums were the first Marsupial Quadrupeds known to Naturalists.
They are peculiar to the American continent. They have fifty teeth.
Their tongue is rough, and their tail, which is partially denuded of
hair, prehensile.
The Virginian Opossum is found in Southern States. It destroys poultry
of which it sucks the blood, but does not eat the flesh. It feeds on
roots and fruits, climbing the trees, and suspending itself by the tail
from the branches; in this position it swings itself to and fro, and by
catching hold of the neighboring branches, passes from tree to tree. It
hunts after Birds and their nests, and when pursued, feigns to be dead,
and will endure great torture without showing any sign of vitality.
The Opossum excavates a burrow near a thicket not far distant from the
abode of Man, and sleeps there during the whole day. While the sun
shines it does not see clearly, and therefore feeds and plays during the
night. Although its mode of life resembles that of the Fox and the
Polecat, it is much less cruel, and has also inferior means of defence.
It runs badly, and although its jaws are large, they are not strong.
“The Opossum,” says Audubon, “is fond of secluding itself during the
day, although it by no means confines its predatory rangings to the
night. Like many other quadrupeds which feed principally upon flesh, it
is both frugivorous and herbivorous, and when very hard pressed by
hunger, it seizes various kinds of insects and reptiles. Its gait when
traveling, and when it supposes itself unobserved, is altogether
ambling—in other words, it, like a young foal, moves the two legs of one
side forward at once. Its movements are rather slow, and as it walks or
ambles along, its curious prehensile tail is carried just above the
ground, and its rounded ears are directed forwards.”
There are several species of Opossum found in South America, but none in
the Antilles or the West Indies.
Their method of hunting their prey is interesting. An Opossum is seen
slowly and cautiously trudging along over the melting snow, by the side
of an unfrequented pond, nosing as it goes for the fare its ravenous
appetite prefers. Now it has come upon the fresh track of a Grouse or
Hare, and it raises its snout and snuffs the keen air. It stops and
seems at a loss in what direction to go, for the object of its pursuit
has taken a considerable leap or has cut backwards, before the Opossum
entered its track. It raises itself up, stands for a while on its
hind-feet, looks around, sniffs the air, and then proceeds. But now at
the foot of a noble tree, it comes to a full stand. It walks round the
base of the large trunk, over the snow-covered roots, and among them
finds an aperture, which it at once enters. Several minutes elapse, when
it re-appears, dragging along a Squirrel, already deprived of life; with
this in its mouth it begins to ascend the tree. Slowly it climbs; the
first fork does not seem to suit it, for perhaps it thinks that it might
be there too openly exposed to the view of some wily foe, and so it
proceeds, until it gains a cluster of branches intertwined with
grape-vines; and there composing itself, it twists its tail round one of
the twigs, and with its sharp teeth demolishes the unlucky Squirrel,
which it holds all the while in its fore-paws.