These famously ornery but truly misunderstood marsupials suffer through one of the harshest struggles of any newborn in nature; the female gives birth to up to FIFTY young at a time, but almost all of them are doomed to die. No larger than grains of rice, the young “joeys” are blind, hairless, slimy and almost maggot-like. As soon as they’re born, it’s a grueling, groping race to mother’s pouch – three inches away – where they will find only four teats. The first four to bite down on a nipple will remain there for the next three months, while the rest of their brothers and sisters starve to death within minutes.
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