"Pregnant" Opossum

3 months ago
36

My trail camera took this video of an opossum's with a very swollen belly. I believe it's because she is carrying young in her pouch.

Opossums are very interesting. They are the only marsupials in North America. They give birth to a litter of 1-13 undeveloped young (known as "joeys") after a gestation period of about 12.5 days. They are blind, hairless, and about the size of a honeybee. They must crawl into the mother's pouch and attach to a nipple to survive. The joeys remain in the pouch, nursing and growing, for about two months. After two months, they begin to emerge from the pouch and will eventually ride on their mother's back. They become independent in four months.

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