WHEN YOU
LOOK
Western Bluebird
The Northern Red-Sided Opossum
When you look at the northern red-sided opossum, you see endurance.
The northern red-sided opossum, or Monodelphis brevicauda, is a type of short-tailed opossum with distinctive red fur on their sides extending onto their legs. They live in the lowland forests or foothills below 1500m (Pavan, 2016). These nocturnal creatures are adaptable and can thrive in almost any environment they are put into. Their population rates are extremely stable, even during times of habitat altercation or food scarcity (Julien-Laferrierie & Atramentowicz, 1990). Scientists theorize their reproduction’s efficiency is due to a unique process they have called sperm pairing. In this process, the sperm pairs in the male testicles and splits in the female ovary duct. This efficiency is shown as male northern red-sided opossums inseminate females with 3 million sperm, 5% of which reaches the site of fertilization. This is highly effective when compared to rabbits who have 150 million sperm, 0.01% reaching the site of fertilization (Austad, 1988). The adaptability and efficient reproduction of the northern red-sided opossum is a key factor in their endurance as a species.
Many opossums face a stressful environment in their youth. The process of the young developing is full of fatality and stress. For the type of opossum common in the United States, the female has a gestation period of 11 to 13 days. Then she births over 20 young weighing a mere 0.13g and sizing to a dime. These newborns are in an embryo-like stage and have to make the treacherous journey from the birth canal to their mother’s teat where they will finish developing. With only the ability to grasp and suck, the young climb in a swimming motion (Opossum Society of the United States, 2023). The mother has an average of 13 teats, many of which may be unfunctional, resulting in an average of only 6 to 8 of her 20 young surviving (Austad, 1988). Once on the teat, they remain there to finish developing for 2.5 months, all the while their mother still has to hunt and find shelter on her own. During this time, most opossum’s young are protected from the harsh environment as they have a pouch for them. It is in this high stress and high fatality situation that the opossum grows. Their species’ endurance in light of these harsh conditions is something to be astonished by.
The opossum’s endurance in the face of hardship is inspiring, and we can learn from it. Their adaptability in environments and stability in face of habitat change or food scarcity is credited not only to their reproductive system, but also to their devotion to keep moving forward. Just as the mother opossum provides for herself and her young on her own, we can learn to provide for our own needs. The opossum’s adaptability teaches us to keep moving forward, start a family, and depend on ourselves despite the crumbling world around us. The endurance of the opossum during their early developmental stages is another inspiration. The young, barely in a fetal stage, make a life-or-death journey and have to fight continually for their survival. Many of us can relate to this as we had childhoods of dysfunction, where we felt the need to fight for our own survival. Through the endurance of this animal, we can learn the importance of not giving up and taking life’s challenges one step at a time.
