Where marsupials live

Most marsupials live in Australia and New Guinea. In fact, more than 100 species of marsupials can be found in Australia alone. Some common Australian marsupials are kangaroos, wombats, and koalas. However, marsupials also live in Tasmania and the Americas.

Marsupials live in many different environments. These environments include forest floors, lakes and streams, grasslands, mountain forests, and even underground areas.

Physical characteristics

Marsupials vary greatly in size. The largest living marsupials are the red and gray kangaroos of Australia. Males of these species can be 9 feet (2.7. meters) or more from head to toe. The smallest marsupials are the species called planigales. Planigales grow to an average length of less than 4 inches (10 centimeters). However, most marsupials range in size between a small cat and an average-sized dog.

Marsupials have many important physical features that help them survive. One important example is the pouch. Most, but not all, marsupials have a pouch. The tiny newborn marsupial stays in this pouch feeding on its mother's milk while it continues to grow. Other important features are large back limbs. Kangaroos use these back limbs to hop quickly over the plains. Finally, the marsupial tail is often well developed and can be used for support or grasping.

Feeding habits

Marsupials eat a wide variety of foods. Some marsupials are carnivores, or meat eaters. For example, the Tasmanian devil feeds on birds, small mammals, and dead animals. Some species are herbivores, or plant eaters. Kangaroos and wallabies are primarily grass eaters. Other marsupials are scavengers, or omnivores. This means that they eat both plants and meat—whatever they can find. Opossum species eat a variety of nuts, fruit, eggs, and other mammals. They will even eat garbage.

Finally, some marsupials prefer particular foods. The koala eats the leaves and bark of different types of eucalyptus trees. The honey possum feeds on the nectar of flowers. The numbat mainly eats ants and termites that it finds in decayed wood on the forest floor. To get to these insects, the numbat uses its long tongue.

Behavior

Because there are so many species of marsupials, there are many different types of behavior displayed by these animals as well. For example, male bandicoots have been known to become violent towards each other when fighting over territory. In this situation, one of the males will either be killed or acknowledge that the other male is superior. Virginia opossums also have interesting behavior. When they are threatened by an enemy, they will lay on the ground and stay completely still until the danger passes. This type of “playing dead” can last anywhere from 30 seconds to 6 hours.

Reproduction

The early life of a marsupial is extremely unusual because of the role of the mother's pouch. Marsupials are tiny, blind, and underdeveloped at birth. As soon as they are born, they make their way along their mother's fur to the pouch. This journey is difficult, and the mother does not help these newborns at all.

Once the babies have reached the pouch, they begin to drink milk from their mother's nipples. The nipples then swell and become fastened to the mouth tissues of the young. The young will stay there for weeks or months until they are more fully developed. In marsupials that do not have pouches, the young simply cling to the nipples of the mother.

After the young stop depending on their mother's milk, they begin to look after themselves. The young marsupials roam for short distances and eat on their own. However, they will run back to the pouch whenever danger threatens. Some marsupial young, such as those of the koala, cling to the fur on the mother's back, sides, or abdomen after they have outgrown the pouch.