Baby Opossum

I love opossums!  Even though they are sometimes mean and are quite ugly.

From Wikipedia: The Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana), commonly known as the North American Opossum, is the only marsupial found in North America north of the Rio Grande. A solitary and nocturnal animal about the size of a domestic cat, it is a successful opportunist and is found throughout Central America and North America east of the Rockies from Costa Rica to southern Ontario (it was also introduced to California in 1910, and now occupies much of the Pacific coast); it seems to be still expanding its range northward. Its ancestors evolved in South America, but were enabled to invade North America in the Great American Interchange by the formation of the Isthmus of Panama about 3 million years ago. It is often seen near towns, rummaging through garbage cans, or lying by the side of the road, a victim of traffic.

You know what I love about opossums?

They are marsupials - they have a pouch!  We don't have too many marsupials here in Maryland!  

Young are born in that pouch, and are carried in that pouch until they get large enough to be carried on the mama's back.  Many opossums visit us here on our back porch, and I always look for babies in the opossum's pouch or on the back.  I have never seen any babies, until TODAY!!!

This mama came to eat at our back porch today, in broad daylight, as they often do (even though Wikipedia calls them nocturnal).  I have been watching her belly grow in size the past few weeks, so wanting to catch a glimpse of the baby/babies I knew were in there.  She waddled, her belly was almost dragging on the ground.

She turned her rear end towards me.  Wait, wait, something fell out on the left! 

It has feet!!  And on the right there's a little tail. 

Two babies!!

Then suddenly this little guy climbed up onto mama's back!

He looks left...

...Then right...

...Then he looks straight up.  Hello big world!!

The baby got nervous when the mama opossum went into the high grass to drink some water that had pooled there from the recent rains.

Look at that grip!

The baby slipped off mama's back and disappeared underneath.  The mama was patient as he climbed into the pouch.  The second baby never made a real appearance.

Now we cannot say that we have never seen baby opossums in a mama opossum's pouch or on her back!