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Keene senator finds bipartisan support for the opossum as NH's official state marsupial

State Sen. Donovan Fenton, D-Keene, has 14 co-sponsors, about evenly split between the two parties, in support of his legislative proposal to make the Virginia opossum the official state marsupial. Skyler Ewing / Pexels
Skyler Ewing / Pexels stock photo via Sentinel Source
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State Sen. Donovan Fenton, D-Keene, has 14 co-sponsors, about evenly split between the two parties, in support of his legislative proposal to make the Virginia opossum the official state marsupial. Skyler Ewing / Pexels

This story was originally produced by The Keene Sentinel. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.

There is no shortage of disagreements between Democrats and Republicans in the New Hampshire Legislature, but when it comes to the Virginia opossum, there appears to be a good bit of bipartisan support.

State Sen. Donovan Fenton, D-Keene, has 14 co-sponsors, about evenly split between the two parties, in support of his legislative proposal to make it the official state marsupial.

The cat-sized nocturnal animal is actually North America’s only native marsupial, a classification for a mammal that is carried in its mother’s pouch.

“They eat ticks, they don’t get rabies, they are a pretty interesting critter,” Fenton said Tuesday. (They are not immune to rabies, but it’s extremely uncommon for them to carry the disease.)

Fenton said some young constituents persuaded him to pursue the legislation.

“This summer, I was invited to a 4th-grade class in Chesterfield and they asked me to sponsor this legislation,” he said. “They are learning about government and civics.”

The students did some research and found out New Hampshire does not have an officially designated state marsupial. They signed a petition asking Fenton to get this done.

“I’m sure someone will find issues with this bill, but it’s a nice and light-hearted bill. It keeps my youngest constituents engaged in this. They are very curious about the legislative process and how things work,” Fenton said. “It’s hopefully non-controversial.”

Fenton said he’s seen the animal before in his yard and on the roads.

“They are not the prettiest animal, but it’s the only marsupial we got.”

If Fenton’s bill is successful, the Virginia opossum would join the ranks of a number of creatures and plants the state has honored.

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The white-tailed deer is New Hampshire’s state animal, the ladybug is the state insect, the spotted newt is the state amphibian and the Chinook is the state dog.

The purple lilac is the state flower, the white birch is the state tree and, due to a successful effort by students from Harrisville’s Wells Memorial School nearly 20 years ago, the pumpkin is the state fruit.

Co-sponsors to Fenton’s proposal include two senators whose districts include Monadnock Region communities, Ruth Ward, R-Stoddard, and Denise Ricciardi, R-Bedford.

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