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Opossum
Didelphis virginiana
45.0024, -93.1248
Field Notes
Description:
This cat-sized marsupial is covered in stiff gray hair, with darker legs and pink toes. Ears are small and hairless. The tail is hairless and prehensile. As a marsupial, the females have a pouch in which young are initially cared.
Habitat:
I typically find opossums in eastern deciduous and mixed forests. Their range spreads across the southeastern United States, north into southern Canada, and south into Central America.
Notes:
The Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota area was once the northern limit of this animal's range due to our severe winter temperatures. Their hairless tails and ears suffered severe frostbite in our area and many of our opossums had signs of tail and ear injuries. The trend in warmer winters, however, recently has permitted their range to expand into northern Minnesota and several of my friends who live further north now see them regularly.
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