Black-tailed antechinuses are tiny carnivorous marsupials that weren't even known to science until 2014, hidden in the cool, misty forests of the eastern Australian highlands.
They're endangered now, and their lives come with a hard truth.
During their short breeding season, males throw everything they have into it, barely eating or sleeping, until stress hormones flood their bodies and shut down their immune systems. Most of them die within weeks. The females often survive to raise another generation.
Burnout can feel like the only proof that you tried hard enough. But your worth was never measured in how much of yourself you could use up. You're allowed to pace yourself and still be here next season.
You don't have to burn yourself out to prove you were worth something.
Stay wild,
Chris