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Watch This Queens Opossum Mom Carry 8 Kids On Her Back
By
Ben Yakas
Published May 18, 2016
Modified Apr 4, 2018
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By
Ben Yakas
Published May 18, 2016
Modified Apr 4, 2018
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Squirrels find milkshakes, rats scrounge for pizza, bedbugs are rewarded with delicious human blood, but what does a haggard opossum mom who has spent all day collecting food for her family get? Eight ungrateful children ripping out her hair while clinging for dear life on her back as they traverse a backyard in Astoria, Queens.
Of course, it's not like they have much of a choice: baby opossums have to cling to their mother's back for survival in the first months of their lives. As they grow larger and larger, fighting over their mother's nipples for sustenance, they crowd each other out; some will fall off and be left to fend for themselves in the big city.
But still, OctoPossum, as the Astoria natives who encountered and captured her on video have dubbed her, deserves a vacation (and we don't mean the kind where you dangle helplessly from a fence in McCarren Park). Let this be a timely reminder not to take your marsupial mother for granted—at least buy her some fruit or carrion treats to show her you appreciate her!
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Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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