
North America's only marsupial (female has a pouch) mammal. The female carries and nurses her young in her marsupium until they are about 2 to 3 months old; then they are carried on her back another 1 to 2 months whenever they are away from the den.

Size of a cat; grey to black fur; black eyes; pink nose, feet and
tail; black ears; and pointed nose.
Solitary and nocturnal: usually slow moving; when
frightened and unable to flee may fall into an involuntary shock-like
state, "playing 'possum".
Hiss or growl and show their 50 sharp teeth when frightened; but,
in reality, they are gentle and placid — they prefer to avoid all
confrontations and wish to be left alone.
Omnivorous: eats insects, snails, rodents, berries, over-ripe fruit, grasses, leaves, and
carrion; occasionally will eat snakes, ground eggs, corn or other
vegetables.
Adaptable; able to live wherever water, food, and shelter exist.
At home in trees; uses its prehensile tail to help stabilize position
when climbing— it does not, however, hang by its tail.
One of the shortest lived mammals for its size, typically 2 to 4 years. Killed by many predators: humans (and cars),
dogs, cats, owls, and larger wildlife.
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