Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
evolutionary adaptation, for the mother never has to worry about returning to a den to feed her young.
As a result, she can range far and wide in search of food, denning here and there for a rest as the spirit
moves her.
After this three-month interval, the young possums emerge from the pouch and for a few days remain
in a den while the mother forages. Thereafter, the babies resume traveling with their mother. Possum
babies are often portrayed dangling from the mother's tail by their own, but, although it makes an ap-
pealing picture, this is just another myth. In real life they either scurry along beside their mother or
cling to her long fur.
In just a few more weeks the young possums are grown and set out on their own. After several addi-
tional weeks they'll produce another generation of possums, thereby ensuring that this unusual creature
will survive, despite predators and an abnormally brief life span.
