ahsc-opossum

Each foot has 5 toes. The hind foot has no claws.
==

===Size: They are about the size of a house cat and weigh 4-14 pounds. The babies are very tiny when born. They crawl immediately into the mother’s pouch, and attach themselves to a nipple. They are there for 4 weeks before leaving the pouch at all.===

habitat: They live in forests, brushy woods, and farmlands
===Range:The Virginia opossum can be found in most of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains and on the West Coast. It is also found in Mexico, Central America and in British Columbia, Canada === 

diet: They eat insects, snails, slugs, rats, cat and dog food, berries, fruits, and birds.
media type="youtube" key="VWwNkIRGnRk" height="344" width="425"

===Behavior & adaptations to its way of life:The Virginia opossum has many behavioral adaptations it uses to survive. When threatened, it will exhibit behaviors like running, growling, belching, urinating and even defecating. Sometimes it will "play 'possum." and roll over, become stiff, drool, and its breathing will become slow and shallow. This coma-like state can last up to four hours Some predators will think the opossum is dead and go away! === 

The name 'opossum' was first used in western culture by Captain John Smith in 1608. It comes from the Algonquin name **'apasum'**, which means 'white animal.'
===How it reproduces:An Virginia opossum female may have as many as 25 babies, but sheusually will have between seven to eight. The reason opossums have so many babies to insure that some of them survive. Like most marsupials, opossums are very small when they are born - about the size of a navy bean. The babies climb up the mother's  ===

females will have three litters a year.
===Relationship to other animals (predator/prey, parasite, etc.):<span style="color: rgb(0,0,0);">Virginia opossums are nocturnal animals, which means that they are most active at night. They do not get along well with one another, so while females do tend to live in groups, males fight when they encounter other opossums. Virginia opossums, both male and female, are very aggressive. They will try to scare away threats, but will usually play dead when they come across a more powerful opponent. Opossums usually travel on land but will swim, in some cases, to escape danger. === <span style="color: rgb(255,0,0);">

===<span style="color: rgb(255,0,0);">Relationship to people:<span style="color: rgb(0,0,0);">opossums would be no danger to humans at all because opossums when near a human would usually drop and play dead because they are affraid of us. === <span style="color: rgb(255,0,0);">

<span style="color: rgb(255,0,0);">Other interesting information:
===<span style="color: rgb(255,0,0);"><span style="color: rgb(0,0,0);">__//Kingdom://__ Animalia __//Phylum://__ Chordata __//Class://__ Mammalia __//Subclass://__ Theria __//Infraclass://__ Metatheria //__Suborder:__// Polyprotodontia __//Superfamily://__ Didelphoidae __//Family://__ Didelphidae __//Subfamily://__ Didelphinae __//Genus://__ //Monodelphis// __//Species://__ //M//. //domestica// ===

<span style="color: rgb(255,0,0);">citations: Jackson, Jeffrey J.. "opossum." //internet center for wildlife damage management//. 29 Apr 2009 <http://icwdm.org/handbook/mammals/Opossums.asp>.
="Opossum." //uc ipm online statewide integraded pest management program//. 4/05. <http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74123.html>.=