Opossum’s are not pests, they are our friends. Support them! Mama possum with her babies 🥺 pic.twitter.com/D3ZOAEJy8n — Nature is Amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) March 22, 2024 They are North America’s only marsupials: It’s true that wombats, wallabies, kangaroos and koalas are regular sights in national parks — if you happen to be in Australia. Australia boasts the most diverse population of marsupials in the world, with more than 200 different species roaming, climbing and hopping about the continent, out of about 334 such species worldwide. In the United States, it’s a different story. The only marsupial anywhere in the country is the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana). These two- to three-foot-long mammals are the only animals north of Mexico that carry their young in pouches, a characteristic of marsupials that allows their babies to more fully grow and develop before living independently from their mothers. All other mammals have placentas, which nourish the young while still in the womb. After an opossum’s babies are developed enough to live outside its pouch, the mother will continue to carry the young on her back for another month or two while they nurse. Though the opossum is the only animal of its kind in this part of the world, it has a wide range and a robust population. It is most strongly associated with the Southeast, where it appears in folklore and even traditional recipes, but it is common throughout the country east of the Rockies. It also lives along the Pacific Coast, is…