### animal | vertebrate | mammal:

Opossum
* All opossums have long, tapered tails with a scaly appearance.
* Many opossums suffer painful deaths from poisoning.
* Most opossums adapt to environments
  - carry parasites
  - collect fruit
* Most opossums eat food
  - garbage
  - insects
  - pet food
* Most opossums escape natural predators
  - give birth to mammals
* Most opossums has-part mouths
* Most opossums have brains
  - eyes
  - glands
  - hairless ears
  - lifespans
  - long hairless tails, although some have tails which are prehensile
  - mechanisms
  - ranges
  - scent glands
  - short lifespans
  - thumbs
  - wide ranges
* Most opossums live in areas
  - underground dens
  - obtain food
  - possess scent glands
* Most opossums require drink water
  - taken by hunters are harvested by raccoon or fox hunters
* Some opossums are located on roads
* Some opossums carry babies
  - diseases
  - fleas
  - come from countries
  - consume such delicacies
* Some opossums eat anything
  - pests
  - snacks
  - feed in trees
* Some opossums get breathe treatments
  - rabies
  - hang from tails
* Some opossums have properties
  - syndromes
  - kill chickens
* Some opossums live in South and Central American rainforests
  - barns
  - lakes
  - woodlands
  - occur along coasts
  - possess litter
* Some opossums provide little parental care
* Some opossums reside in areas
  - forest areas
* Some opossums reside in remote areas
  - sit in trees
  - stand on roads
  - survive attacks
* also come in and wander off when fruit is available
  - do better than rats and cats at solving maze problems
* also eat considerable amounts of vegetable matter, especially fruits and grains
  - grass, nuts, and fruit
  - snakes, many times poisonous snakes
  - have a prehensile tail, from which they can occasionally hang
  - target bird feeders
* appear to be extending their geographic range
  - prefer insects, animal flesh, and fruits in that order
* are North America's only marsupial, having a pouch to harbor and nurse their newborns.
* are a nocturnal animal, which means they are most active during the night
  - type of mammal called marsupials
  - about the size of a big cat
* are active generally at night
  - the year-round and feed on anything
  - year round
* are active year-round and inhabit moist woodlands and brushy habitats at low elevations
  - but often den up when the weather is extremely cold
  - actually marsupials
  - also the proud owners of prehensile tails and opposable thumbs
  - at greatest risk from humans, domesticated pets, and cars
  - basically solitary and antisocial, either avoiding one another or acting aggressively
  - cat sized marsupials
* are common in almost all wooded and brushy areas
  - urban wildlife
  - considered promiscuous, or polygynandrous
  - excellent tree climbers and spend much of their time aloft
* are extremely resistant to disease
  - tough animals and can withstand considerable abuse
* are found in eastern, central, and west coast states
  - every South Carolina county
  - generalists
  - gentle, non-aggressive, highly beneficial animals
  - good tree climbers and often hang upside down, clinging by their prehensile tail
  - gray with long pointed noses and hairless ears and tail
  - immune to many poisons from other animals, such as rattlesnakes
  - incredible generalists with regard to their habitat and food preferences
  - insectivorous, carnivorous, or, more commonly, omnivorous
* are known to get into garbage and pet food that has been left outside
  - kill and eat poultry and small game birds thus causing economic losses
* are marsupials, and the obviously live in North America
  - but unlike all other marsupials in several ways
* are marsupials, or pouched mammals, and are related to the kangaroo and the koala
  - meticulously clean animals
  - more resistant to rabies than any other mammal
* are most active at night
  - likely to cause problems by getting into garbage or raiding bird feeders
* are mostly arboreal and nocturnal
  - naturally timid and try to avoid interaction with people and domestic animals
  - nest builders
* are nocturnal animals, spending most of the daylight hours in their dens
  - foragers
  - nocturnal, spending the day in dens or other protected spots
  - non-aggressive creatures
  - omnivores, able to live on a wide array of foods
  - omnivorous and eat a wide variety of food items
* are omnivorous, eating nearly any plant, animal, insect, or carrion
  - meaning they eat both plant and animal substances
  - one of the most common nuisance mammals in Michigan
* are opportunistic feeders and scavengers
  - feeders, eating what is available
  - omnivores that eat a wide variety of animal and plant matter
  - particularly fond of cat and dog food
  - quadrupeds
  - said to rank higher in intelligence than dogs
  - sexually mature at six to eight months
* are solitary except at breeding time
  - figures, only uniting around other opossums for breeding
  - somewhat nomadic, changing den sites often
  - subject to a variety of diseases, though interestingly, rabies is exceedingly rare
  - successful as a species due in part to the size and frequency of litters
* are the only North American mammal with a pouch
  - extant marsupials outside of the Australian region
* are the only marsupials in North America
  - native to the United States and Canada
  - that are native to North America
  - primary hosts and birds are the intermediate hosts
  - tough little rascals
  - unique for many reasons
  - unspecialized animals that can utilize a variety of foods and habitats
* are usually shy and harmless animals, with two main defense mechanisms
  - whitish gray in the North but gray to nearly black in the South
  - very easy to catch
* begin breeding in late winter and early spring.
* belong in the wild.
* can also carry various parasites and diseases
  - become a nuisance to humans because of their scavenging
  - carry rabies, so wear heavy gloves and be wary of bites
* can climb trees and hand upside down having wrapped their rails around a tree limb
  - trees, burrow, withstand heat or cold, and are immune to rattlesnake venom
  - hang briefly from branches by their tails, at least when they are young
  - remember the taste of noxious or toxic substances even a year after a single encounter
* carry bundles of leaves and stems clasped in their tails when they are building nests
  - their babies in a pouch on their belly, just like a kangaroo
* certainly can and do kill and eat chickens and other birds.
* climb fences.
* close eyes.
* commonly use chimneys, attics, and spaces under houses, porches, and sheds as den sites.
* consume food
* depend on smell and touch to find meals.
* do one thing extremely well, however, and that is to produce more possums
  - play dead
* eat almost anything that they can find
  - grass, mushrooms and chickens
  - more animal than plant food
  - pasture
  - practically anything
* endear themselves to scientists by breeding quickly and having large litters.
* feed on insects.
* forage at nights
* hang upside down by their tails when sleeping.
* have a good way to survive
  - heavy set body that resembles a large house cat
  - pouch in which babies are carried
  - remarkable immune system
  - spectacular immune system, and a lower than average body temperature
  - between two and three litters a year
  - excellent night vision but relatively poor distance vision and overall visual acuity
  - expand ranges
  - features
  - grayish fur, with naked ears and tail
* have high infant mortality and short lifespans, averaging one to four years
  - mortality rates at all ages
  - large mouths which contain a number of sharp jagged teeth
* have many features
  - interest features
  - marsupial development and females have a pouch
  - no highly developed or specialized mechanisms for attack or aggressive offense
  - one to two litters of six to ten young
  - opposable thumbs on their rear feet and can also grasp with their tails
  - pouches
  - relatively long rostrums , a small braincase , and often, a prominent sagittal crest
  - soft, delicate hands with nails that are easily ripped out
  - some value as furbearers, and a good number are sold each year for their pelts
  - superpowers against snakes
* help maintain a clean and healthy environment.
* includes brains
  - breasts
  - cell membranes
  - cells
  - heads
  - plasma membranes
  - rib cages
  - sections
  - sterna
  - vacuoles
* is one of the host species.
* lend themselves to aging studies because they do it so precipitously.
  - forests , woodlands and near farms
  - open woods, swamps and wastelands
  - woodlands and agricultural areas in all of Minnesota except the far northern part
* look like rats.
* make few vocalizations
  - leaf nests in hollow logs, fallen trees, or abandoned burrows
* may have chances.
* normally occupy a den site for only two or three consecutive nights.
* occupy habitats.
* often kill tagasaste in the bush by constantly eating tender regrowth.
* only have a life span of approximately two years if they are lucky.
* play dead for periods of several minutes to several hours at a time.
* possess fur
* prefer food
  - low, damp, wooded streams and swamps
* prefer to eat overripe, rotting fruit that has fallen from trees
  - the rotting fruit that have fallen to the ground
  - sleep in dark, secluded places
* provide sport for night hunters and their hounds.
* range in size from that equal to a large cat down to a small mouse.
* readily use trails made by other wildlife or humans near creeks, ravines, and wetlands.
* search for food.
* tend to be fairly nomadic creatures.
* use burrows
* usually have two to three litters per year, with an average of seven young in each litter.