This Opossum sure has a lot of babies
Wordless Wednesday
I had no idea that Opossums had so many babies at one time! Look at that! I’m counting eleven babies.
I wonder what Opossum babies are called? Kids, Pups, Kits?
I tried looking it up on the Net and all I found was that baby Opossums apparently have no designated name.
I guess it’s up for grabs – what would you call baby opossums?
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Really a very nice display of care from the mother nature..gets you a bit emotional…nature has gifted animals in different ways.
Male opossums are called jacks, and females are called jills. The young are referred to as joeys, just like their Australian cousins. A group of opossums is called a passel.
As with most mammals the number will vary, but generally opossums will give birth to between 6-25 young one to three times a year, usually between January and July. Most litters consist of 6 to 9 young. Of these no more than 13 will survive because the mother only has 13 teats with which to feed them. Each joey will latch onto a teat, and those who do not secure a place in their mother’s pouch will starve and die.
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Wow, I didn’t know either that they had so many babies. Hmm — maybe call the posslets? Possitos? Now you’ve got me going and I’ll probably be thinking about this all night!
Anyway, happy Wordless Wednesday.