MARSUPIALS: Oppossums, Kangaroos, Koalas, Wombats, etc

Marsupials, the third category of mammals, give birth to tiny young which are hairless, blind, and have undeveloped hind legs. The baby uses its fore-arms to drag itself to the pouch where it attaches permanently to the mother’s milk supply for about 6 months (like an umbilical cord). Opossums South of the Equator (left) are definitely cuter than those North of the Equator. Both, however, are marsupials.
The kangaroo is probably the best known pouched marsupial. When the joey is born it’s the size of a jelly bean. God designed kangaroos so that the female can have a developing joey attached to one teat while a juvenile joey that's being weaked nurses on another which produces a richer milk. In the meantime, she may have a fertilized embryo “on reserve” in case the other doesn’t live. God designed that this embryo would not develop if there was a famine; but with farms and golf courses as ready sources of food, kangaroos are abundant. In fact, some are hit by cars—especially in the evenings.
God designed kangaroo and wallaby (also pictured) pouches to open at the top (probably so the joey wouldn’t fall out when the mama hops); but the wombat, which burrows in the ground, has a down-ward-opening pouch. I guess it would just fill up with dirt if it opened at the top. We are again reminded of God’s magnificent design in creation!
Koalas climb trees and mum’s pouch also opens downward, perhaps so branches wouldn’t poke into her pouch. Koalas spend over 19 hours a day sleeping in eucalyptus trees and about 5 hours eating the leaves. They have very sharp claws designed to quickly scoot up trees. Their front paw has 3 “fingers” and two “thumbs”; but the “thumb” on their back claw lacks a nail and the next two “fingers” are partially fused for grooming itself. I love it!
We have friends who are on a koala rescue team. Because society is infringing on the koala’s territory and trees are being replaced with buildings, koalas sometimes loose their happy home and/or are injured by dogs or cars while going for a “walkabout”. We were able to tour the wild animal hospital and thought of at least two grandkids who would love to work there. The following mum and bub were rescued just last week. If a koala is over 4 years of age, after it is well enough, it must be returned to the same general area from which it was rescued. Otherwise it is removed to a less inhabited area.
We, too, will be returning to our natural habitat in a few weeks, after a stop-over in Tahiti and then Las Vegas for a Pathology meeting. Hope you’ve enjoyed blogging with us this year.