What is a marsupial?

0:46 Welcome to Sciences Not Boring by Kidopoly.com. I'm Mira. And I'm Finn. Before we dive in, we have a huge shout-out to five-year-old Noah in Auckland, New Zealand, who loves our show and asks all about Tasmanian devils and their super strong bite.

1:04 That is such an awesome question, Noah. You rock!

1:08 If you haven't already, tap follow wherever you're listening so you never miss an episode.

1:13 So, Mira, what kind of wild science are we exploring today?

1:18 Imagine being born blind, completely hairless, and exactly the size of a pink jelly bean. And then you have to climb a giant mountain of fur all by yourself.

1:29 A mountain of fur? While being the size of a jelly bean? That sounds impossible.

1:36 It happens every day in Australia. Today we are exploring the incredible world of marsupials.

1:42 Oh, marsupials! Those are the animals with the built-in belly pockets, right?

1:47 Exactly! We're going to uncover how kangaroos survive, why wombats have backward pouches, and tackle Noah's favourite, the fierce Tasmanian devil.

1:57 Okay, so what exactly makes a marsupial different from other mammals like dogs or monkeys?

2:03 It's all about how their babies grow. Most mammals keep their babies safely growing inside their bodies for a long time. But marsupials give birth when their babies are incredibly tiny and not fully developed. And that's where the pouch comes in? You got it! The pouch acts like an external incubator, a safe, warm sleeping bag where the tiny baby can drink milk and grow for months.

2:29 That is so cool! But why are there so many of them in Australia? Whenever I think of Australia, I think of kangaroos jumping everywhere.

2:38 To answer that, we have to travel back in time over 50 million years. Back then, Earth's continents were connected in different ways.

2:47 Wait, they moved? Like giant puzzle pieces.

2:51 Yes, through plate tectonics. Australia separated from other continents, like Antarctica and South America, and drifted away into the ocean like a massive isolated lifeboat.

3:04 A 50 million year old lifeboat? So the animals on it were trapped?

3:09 Exactly. Because they were completely isolated from other parts of the world, marsupials didn't have to compete with other types of mammals. They had the whole continent to themselves to evolve into all sorts of amazing shapes.

3:24 How many different kinds of marsupials are there in Australia today?

3:28 Today, Australia is home to over 250 marsupial species. Some live in trees, some dig underground, and some bounce across the desert.

3:38 Let's talk about the bouncing ones first. The kangaroos! How big do they get?

3:44 The red kangaroo is the largest marsupial in the world. A grown male can stand about two metres tall. That's over six and a half feet.

3:54 Whoa, that's taller than most adults. And they start out the size of a jelly bean.

4:00 Yes, when a kangaroo baby, called a Joey, is born, it weighs less than one single gram. It has no fur, its eyes are sealed shut, and its back legs are barely little bumps.

4:13 Wait, if it can't see, how does it find the pouch? The mother's belly is huge compared to a jelly bean.

4:21 This is one of the most incredible survival stories in nature. Using only its tiny front arms and a strong sense of smell, the blind joey climbs up the mother's fur all by itself. The mother doesn't pick it up. Nope, her paws aren't shaped for something that delicate. The joey has to make the journey, which takes about three to five minutes of exhausting climbing.

4:46 Phew! I would be so tired. What happens when it finally gets inside the pouch?

4:52 The pouch is around 34 degrees Celsius inside, nice and cozy. The joey attaches to a nipple, which swells in its mouth so it can't accidentally fall off, and it stays there drinking milk for over eight months.

5:08 Ha, that sounds like a pretty great setup. You climb a mountain once, then you get free room and board for almost a year. So if kangaroos have their pouches opening at the top, like a normal pocket, do all marsupials have top opening pouches?

5:24 Excellent question! And the answer is a big no. Let's talk about the wombat. They look like giant furry potatoes with short legs.

5:35unknown Haha!

5:35 A furry potato! What do wombats do all day?

5:39 They are ultimate digging machines. Wombats use their powerful claws to dig extensive burrows underground. Some of their tunnel systems can be 30 metres long.

5:51 Wait a minute. If a wombat is digging forward through the dirt, throwing soil everywhere, wouldn't a regular pouch act like a bulldozer bucket and scoop up a bunch of dirt?

6:03 Yes, it absolutely would! A baby wombat would get completely buried in mud and rocks.

6:09 Ew, nobody wants a pocket full of dirt. So how do they fix it?

6:14 Evolution solved the problem brilliantly. Wombats have backward-facing pouches. The opening faces their back legs, pointing away from the digging claws.

6:25 No way! The pouch is backwards! That is so smart!

6:30 It really is! The Joey stays perfectly clean and safe, while the mother digs out tons of soil.

6:37 Okay, I have to ask. Don't wombats also have a really weird bathroom fact?

6:42unknown Haha!

6:43 You couldn't resist! Yes, wombats are the only animals in the world known to produce cube-shaped poop. It stops the poop from rolling off rocks, marking their territory perfectly.

6:55 Alright, we learned about the bouncy ones and the digging ones. Now it's time for Noah's favourite, the Tasmanian Devil.

7:03 Yes, the Tasmanian Devil is the largest carnivorous marsupial left in the world. They used to only live in the wild on the island state of Tasmania, but were recently reintroduced to the Australian mainland. Are they really huge? Like a bear? Actually, no. They only weigh about 8 kilograms. Picture a chunky, muscular little dog with black fur.

7:29 8 kilograms? But Noah said they had a super strong bite.

7:33 Oh, they do. For their size, Tasmanian devils have one of the strongest bites of any land mammal. They packed a bone-crushing 553 newton bite force.

7:46 553 newtons? What does that even mean?

7:50 It means they can bite through solid bone. Their jaws can open up to 80 degrees wide. They are scavengers, which means they eat animals that have already died. Their powerful jaws let them eat the meat, the bones, the fur, absolutely everything.

8:08 Ew, they eat the fur and bones? That sounds disgusting.

8:13 It sounds gross to us, but it's vital for the environment. By eating the entire carcass quickly, Tasmanian devils act like nature's vacuum cleaners. They stop diseases from spreading in the forest.

8:27 Wow, so these 8 kilogram bone crushing little devils are actually heroes keeping the island clean? Noah was right, they are awesome. Alright Finn, it's time to see how much you remembered. Are you ready for the quiz? Oh man, okay, I'm ready.

8:44 First question. How many millions of years ago did Australia separate from other continents? Next one. What candy did we compare the size of a newborn kangaroo jerry to? Question three. Why do wombats have a backward-facing pouch? Here's number four. Roughly how many kilograms does a Tasmanian devil weigh?

9:20 Last question, what is the bite force of a Tasmanian devil measured in newtons? Great job, let's see how you did. The first answer is Australia separated over 50 million years ago. For question two, the newborn Joey is the size of a tiny jelly bean. Number three, the answer is to keep dirt out while they dig their long tunnels.

9:50 Question four, a Tasmanian devil weighs about eight kilograms. And the final answer is they have a bone crushing bite force of 553 newtons.

10:03 My mind is officially blown. Marsupials are so weird and wonderful, I will never look at a jellybean the same way again.

10:13 Me neither. And those backward-digging pouches and 553 newton bites prove that nature always finds the most incredible solutions to survive. Yes, oh, and we have sister shows too. History and philosophy is not boring, and maths is not boring. Go give those a listen and a follow as well.

10:47 And if you want to shout out on the show like Noah, or just want to say hi, email us at hello at kidopoly.com.

10:54 Thanks for exploring with us. See you next time on Sciences Not Boring. Bye everyone!