This Mother Possum Carried 13 Babies and Taught Them How to Survive

Mothers have the hardest job in the world. Caring for babies is full-time work, and this labor extends to the animal world. In this Instagram video, a mother possum is seen carrying upwards of a dozen babies on her back. They may be clinging on for dear life, but their mother ensures that they do not fall or get hurt.

Possums are some of the most misunderstood animals in North America. They provide natural pest control and waste management, but most people consider them a nuisance. To dispel the unwarranted reputation of possums, let’s learn more about this creature and how the mother possum in this Instagram video has the strength to carry so many babies on her back.

Possum Background

Opossums (Didelphis virginiana) are the only marsupials native to North America. (Note: In North America, the term “possum” is often used colloquially for opossums, but true possums are native to Australia and nearby regions.) More specifically, the Virginia opossum is the only marsupial species found in the United States and Canada. They originated in South America and entered North America during the Great American Interchange in the late Cenozoic era. Due to the modern opossum’s uncanny resemblance to its ancient ancestors, these marsupials are considered to be “living fossils.“

Virginia opossums may resemble oversized rats, but there is much more to these creatures than meets the eye. Their mouths have 50 teeth, their back feet have opposable digits, and females have pouches like kangaroos. They are often found in wooded areas, but they are also known to traverse shrublands, swamps, and even rainforests. Wherever opossums go—usually alone and at night—they subsist on an opportunistic omnivorous diet. This diet includes rodents, insects, plants, fruits, and grains. Some even eat roadkill to obtain all the necessary nutrients. As a result, possums are excellent for natural pest control and waste management. A single opossum can eat 5,000 ticks in a single year.

Although people often think of them as trash-eaters, opossums are very clean animals. Much like housecats, opossums frequently groom themselves. This helps them cool down in hot weather since they lack sweat glands. Remarkably, opossums are also resistant to snake venom. Unfortunately, they don’t live very long (1-2 years). This short lifespan makes the time that baby opossums spend with their mother especially precious.

Motherly Love

As seen in this Instagram video, a mother possum carries ten or more babies on her back with ease. This remarkable feat highlights the fascinating marsupial characteristics of opossums. Like their distant cousin, the kangaroo, opossums have a very short gestation period (12-14 days). A mother opossum can give birth to as many as 20 tiny babies (called joeys), but since she only has 13 teats in her pouch, only up to 13 can survive and continue developing.

If they survive, the joeys live in their mother’s pouch and nurse from a teat for between 70 and 125 days. While many young joeys do not survive that long, up to 13 of them can attach to their mother at a time. Once they are large enough, they detach from the teat and leave their mother’s pouch. The joeys then climb onto their mother’s back and are carried around as she searches for food. This period teaches them how to find food and avoid predators. If a joey falls off its mother’s back, it will make wheezing-like sounds to alert her. In response, the mother makes clicking sounds until she and her baby are reunited.

This incredible Instagram video shows the latest stage in the developmental process of an opossum joey. At this stage, the joeys are as large as their mother can manage to carry. Soon, these babies will leave their mothers’ backs and venture out into the world on their own.