Opossums use their prehensile tails to gather nesting materials

These are the cutest, wildest construction workers I've ever seen. I'm talking about opossums, of course, one of my all time favorite animals, and the only marsupial native to North America. The Opossum Society of the United States explains that both male and female opossums build elaborate nests, even though they often will only spend a few days in any den before heading to their next destination. And they have a unique way of gathering their nesting materials — with their adorable and incredibly handy prehensile tails!

The Opossum Society provides this great description of how the precious pouched possums collect items for their nests, which they specifically select to provide insulation and privacy:

Tightly curling their tail like a napkin ring, they gather twigs, leaves and even discarded plastic bags and clothing items with their mouth and pass the items through their front legs and pack them into their curled tail for transport. The tail doesn't make the most secure method of transport and you will frequently find parts of their "dropped load" on the way to their nest site.

While their prehensile tails might not be the most "secure method" of transport, they are undoubtedly the cutest, so who cares if they're a little messy?

See for yourself with this trail cam footage of some opossums gathering leaves and other nesting materials. The description of the video explains:

In slow motion close-up we can see how they do it, the opossums select materials with their teeth and pass them back through their front feet and then to their back feet and then push it onto the waiting curled tail and then close tight. Like somebody loading their car at a Home Center – it may not always be pretty, but they get the job done!

Here's another great video from the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences showing an opossum carrying material with their tail, and another over on the "Nature is Fucking Lit" subreddit, which never disappoints. I laughed when I read how one Redditor described the moves:

I love how they're passing the materials from front hand, to back hand, and then butt hand. It's like an adorable conveyor belt.

I couldn't have said it better myself. Enjoy the video of the cuties in action, below. And here's a bonus video of tiny baby opossums doing the same thing! Enjoy!