I HAVE NOTED THERE IS NONE IF ANY RESEARCH OR STUDY DONE IN THE MIDWEST ON THE VIRGINIA OPOSSUM. I WAS WONDERING WHY? ALL THE RESEARCH I HAVE STUDIED HAS COME OUT OF CALIFORNIA OR THE EAST COAST. HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED IN HELPING ILLINOIS WITH ANY KNOWLEDGE I HAVE AND WHAT MOTIVATES THE BIOLOGISTS TO SELECT AN AREA OF RESEARCH ON AN ANIMAL?

There is limited funding to study wildlife, so typically the species that are selected for study are those that are showing population declines or are of interest to the researcher for a specific reason. In the case of opposums, they do very well in the midwest, so they are not often studied. There is some published literature; this is just a sample: 1. Holmes, A. C. V., and G. C. Sanderson. 1965. Populations and Movements of Opossums in East-Central Illinois. Journal of Wildlife Management 29:287–295. 2. Hoffmeister, D. F. 1989. Mammals of Illinois. University of Illinois Press, Urbana and Chicago, Illinois, USA. 3. Hofmann, J. E. 2008. Field Manual of Illinois Mammals. Illinois Natural History Survey, Champaign, Illinois, USA.