What is a marsupial?

A marsupial is a mammal which has a pouch. Its baby is born at a very early stage of development, and makes its way straight away to the pouch, where its suckles. At first the baby has no powers of suction in its mouth, and so the mother’s teat squirts milk into the baby’s mouth at regular intervals. Marsupials are found mainly in the continent of Australasia, which includes not only Australia itself, but also New Zealand, Tasmania and a number of small islands, and also in parts of South America. The best known marsupials are the kangaroo and the koala, which, of course, are natives of Australia.