Opossum Intake/Release: The Impossible Possums

By: Amy Titcomb, Staff Member

In late June, a mother Virginia opossum roaming her home range in Gray, Maine ventured across a road. Roads present mortal danger to all animals, but especially to scavengers like opossums, for whom eating road-kill is a major cause of death. This hungry mother (eating for eleven!) was probably attracted to apple cores and trash tossed from car windows, and small rodents hit by cars. A great feast for a nursing mom! This mother like so many others, was struck by a car. Her jaw was broken and both eyes injured. But rather than abandoning the victim to die, the driver heroically transported her first to Gray

Wildlife Park and then to a veterinarian. It was the vet that first discovered babies in her pouch – they were many and they were small. He wired the mother’s jaw and prescribed antibiotics for infection and a diet of soft cat food; but the prognosis was tentative at best. The driver then brought the opossums down to the Center for Wildlife. This was a pretty discouraging case to see: Mama ‘Possum was terrified, obviously in significant pain, and only barely conscious. We took a peak inside the pouch at those babies. In the past, many opossum babies have been successfully hand-raised and released at CFW, but no human foster care is as good as mom herself, and these guys were really tiny. Opossum newborns are so small that twenty of them could fit into a teaspoon. These babies get to spend their first 60 days in mom’s warm, comfy pouch. Our hope was to keep Mama alive as long as we could, so that the babies could develop further in her pouch and have a better chance of surviving in foster care. Realistically, we weren’t even sure if Mama would make it through the night. It wasn’t even clear whether she could open her mouth enough to lick up the soft food we gave her. But we were sure going to give her the best chance we could. And her first morning at the Center, to the surprise and delight of staff members, her food dish was empty!

Over time, Mama ‘Possum continued to improve dramatically. She ate well, regained her strength, and began to move around her small indoor cage during her nocturnal ramblings. She appeared to be blind, but was no longer in any apparent pain. She was moved to a larger outdoor enclosure, where she continued to eat and thrive. Her jaw showed vast improvement and she was soon able to gobble down mice and fruit intact. By this point, we were hopeful she would car for her babies until weaning. Then we could release them, but what about their blind mother? Now that she was clearly healing and no longer in pain, euthanasia was not an option. We began to discuss possible permanent placements for her. Perhaps she could become an education ambassador for her largely misunderstood and often villainized species.

The weather was pleasant and warm when the babies got too big for the pouch and climbed out to face the world on August 3 – 44 days after Mama was struck by the car. On first count, we saw 8 babies, nope, 9…final count was 10 little opossums, enthusiastic eaters all! Opossums wean at age 96-109 days (remember those first 60 days were spent in mom’s pouch). The new family was moved into a larger cage, where the young ones much enjoyed climbing and exploring. And of course, eating! In late afternoons, they would all climb out of the logs where they slept through the day, and volunteers would spot them scrounging around wondering when dinner would be served.

The best news of all revealed itself slowly...as one by one staff members noticed that Mama 'Possum's vision was improving. When our vet examined her, he announced that her jaw was perfectly healed, her vision intact in one eye, and the other eye only slightly damaged. Since vision isn’t one of an opossum’s most cherished senses (they have extremely keen senses of smell and hearing upon which they rely far more heavily than sight), Mama 'Possum was able to be released with her ten little ones together in late September… against all odds and beyond our wildest hopes. She and her family were a delight to have around, but we are thrilled to send them on to a life in the wild

– Best of luck, little guys!

Opossums could certainly use an ambassador: these animals are fascinating and unique in a number of ways. Not only are they North America’s only marsupials, they are also our only mammals with prehensile tails – that is, they are able to use their tails like hands and grip things. They are known for “playing ‘possum” – which they actually do, feigning death when confronted by predators. Their other methods for handling danger are flight, and the excretion of a smelly green fluid from their anal glands. Throughout this past century, these Southern belles from Virginia have expanded their ranges west and north, probably because they followed the paths of paved roads. With bare fingers, noses, tails, and ears, they find Maine winters to be pretty tough! This lady was pushing the limits! Northern opossums often lose their tails and ear tips from frostbite. They do not hibernate, but do spend much of the winter in dens, with significantly reduced activity and metabolisms. They wisely avoid activity when it gets colder than 10 degrees F, and they can den up for as many as 70 consecutive days. Virginia opossums, Didelphis virginiana, are the only animals in the USA of the order Didelphimorpha, more commonly known as marsupials. Marsupials (like kangaroos, koalas, and Tasmanian devils) give birth to live, but very undeveloped young. After a short gestation period of 13 days, baby opossums make the tough journey from mom’s birth canal to her pouch, where most of their development takes place.

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The Center tries to give much needed care but still allow the animals to be wild, with the intention of letting them go when they are ready to care for themselves. Too much "love" can result in a baby animal imprinting on the humans caring for it and that makes it difficult to release. If you find an animal that seems to be in need, keep an eye on it for while before you decide to take it in. Sometimes, Mom is right around the corner and will retrieve a baby in a short while. If you do decide to intervene, call the Center and get instructions on how to properly handle the animal or call the Animal Control officer in your town.