# Marsupials

Marsupials are best known for the Australian members of the family, the kangaroo and the koala.

Marsupials are members of the mammal family. However, they are different from other mammals because they have an abdominal pouch for carrying their young.

At birth, marsupial babies are not fully developed - the baby's hind legs are just nubs. The baby lives and continues to develop in the mother's pouch. The pouch, or marsupium, also has the mother's mammary glands for feeding the baby. A baby kangaroo might live in its mother's pouch for six months.

Koalas and wombats are a little different from kangaroos. The kangaroo's pouch is on the front, while the pouches of the koala and wombat are on the back.