The other day, Kim Fisher was driving near her home on a rainy day in Pennsylvania when something in the road ahead caused her to slow her vehicle.
It was a plump-looking opossum — but as Fisher quickly realized, she wasn’t exactly alone.
As the opossum shuffled her way over the road, a tiny youngster slipped from her pouch. That’s when Fisher saw the wild mom’s dedication to her baby firsthand, and she couldn’t help but gush:
“Literally adorable,” Fisher can be heard saying in a video she captured of the sweet scene.
Fortunately, after a brief moment of drama, the baby was back where he belongs.
As marsupials, opossum moms typically transport their babies via a pouch on their undersides until they reach around 6 weeks old. But even then, the job of toting them doesn’t end there.
Until her babies reach about 3 months old, an opossum mom will continue to carry them on her back.
The animal world, of course, is full of wonderfully devoted mothers — and as Fisher’s charming encounter proves, opossum moms are no exception.