Evening star., 1947-12-10
This and That
BIZ Charles Z. Trace,peu
oy CEUTIES e. ITUCELUEEE
"TWENTY.EIGHT STREET. 6

WGN n o1REEl . Z.
Dear Sir:
'I am just another reader who considers your
This and That column a must every night,
and would appreciate some information about
the opossum.
eve have q box on our back porch and have
had to chase an opossum out Of 1t twice re-
Gently. The first time 1t was q small one
about the size of rat but the last time it
was large one. They do not seem to be at
all afraid and after looking us over they take
their time about leaving.
do these animals come out in the daytime
or only at night? Are they all fearless or
could these be pets?
no bird feeding stations but who like to watch
them. I have two canaries. and like all such
birds, they scatter half their seeds on the
bottom of their cages
IF this seed is placed on /WindoWsill, the
sparrows soon find it. 1t is amusing to watch
them eat it. They chirp and f1utter their
wings and chase each other back and forth
I have seen white breasted ones others with
dark breasts, ETC., all eating together.
May I thank you again for the enjoyment
I get from your articles?
Sincerely yours, E. W."
Possums may be seen in daylight, but they
are essentially nocturnal animals.
They are fearless. They cannot rival the
penguins, in this respectively have lived with
men too long for that-but unless assaulted
will not show the fear with which most wild
animals greet us.
during the day. No one who is interested in
nature should run them away, though few
goldfish may be the price to be paid for the
presence of these interesting animals. A wire
screen can be placed over the pool, If their
fishing becomes too persistent They will
Ne,
behind.
They eat few birds, fruit and insects, an
odd combination but with fish rather good
diet for an animal.
These are shrewd and interesting creatures,
and properly observed are seen to be beautiful.
Few animals have finer eyes, soft and appealing.
If ones sole idea, in seeing 'possum, Is to
kill it, one will naturally not see the beauty
in its eyes.
1t has long ears, tail and nose The ears,
too, are expressive.
OposSums are marsupialS.
Their tail is sort of feeling organ. The
female has pouch in which the young live
at first They are not much more than half
an inch long, and may range in number
from to 15
The CESSATION period is very short, not reach
ing three weeks Sometimes half of the young
are lost, because they find no room in the
pouch.
After they become older, the youngsters ride
on the back of the mother, hanging to her
tail, or clinging to her fur.
Out at our Zoo they often may be seen in
this position in a tree.
At first their long snouts and naked tails
may strike the observer as odd, even ugly, but
after one has watched them long enough they
begin to appear beautiful
The true beauty of this animal appears in
its face, with the soft eyes. The paws are
truly remarkable, being like hands, with which
they do their fishing.
They offer no harm to domestic dogs and
cats, and should be welcomed in suburban
Washington, not feared, as sometimes occurs
or even killed.
They may get few birds, but what of it?
Birds are not sacred creatures; they must take
the same chances as other living things, and a
few must fall to 'possums, just as some will be
killed by man.
Canary bird seed makes good food for the
wildbirds. The leftover seed should never be
thrown out, except to the birds, if feasible, for
they will let little Of it go to waste.
Many odds and ends of foods, both Of man
kind and their pets, may be served up to the
wildbirds In winter. Clean scraps Of all kinds
will be welcomed Old stale bread, for in
stance, may be softened with warm water It
is always acceptable. furnishing heat to the
birds when most needed.