Love opossums?

Most people know that opossums are marsupials,

but have you ever wondered how the pea-sized newborns make their way from the uterus to the pouch?

They begin by going through a newly formed canal

made from splitting connective tissue. This temporary canal appears shortly after birth and disappears soon after.

It has appropriately been compared to the Room of Requirement - showing up when you need it, disappearing when you don't.

continues.

This is a picture taken using a scanning electron microscope of a 12 day old opossum embryo.

shows the temporary claws that the embryos grow while in the uterus!

They use these claws to climb their way into their mom's pouch.

Thanks to sensory hairs that form in their inner ear 24 hours after birth, they're able to sense the direction of gravity.

They always crawl in the direction opposite of gravity, which leads them towards the pouch.

they already have a highly developed sense of smell. The mother opossum instinctually licks her fur between the birth canal and her pouch. This creates a clean, clear pathway for the babies.

her saliva has olfactory cues that the baby's keen nose can follow to the safety of the pouch. Once they reach the pouch, their claws are shed and permanent nails begin to form.

This entire process only takes 2-4 minutes!

📸 from The Opossum: Its Amazing Story by William John Krause