Link: http://tinyurl.com/22rc82v

Looking for a great opossum story. Here is a wonderful picture book that you might want to get to read to your young children.

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It never ceases to amaze me how well and how quickly wildlife can heal. I received a young, juvenile, male possum in a week or so ago. He had been caught by a labrador retreiver and the wildlife officer had to chase the dog and then force it to release the opossum. When the possum arrived at my house, he had rapid, shallow breathing, palpable subq emphasema over the entire right side of his body, major bruising across the abdomen, right eye filled with blood and protruding, left cornea white.

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Virginia Opossums are interesting creatures. They are the only marsupial native to North America. The gestation period for the Virginia Opossum is 13 days which means they are very “premature” when born. At birth, they crawl up into the mothers pouch, attach themselves to one of her 13 nipples, and continue to grow and develop for another 2 months. When they are about 2 months old, they begin to leave the mom’s pouch for short periods of time. They will stay with mom—first in her pouch, then riding on her back and finally running along side her—for approximately 5 months when they are fully weaned and able to live independently.

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Link: http://tinyurl.com/l9r7ca

Possums are notorious for being found in some interesting places. A baby possum was recently rescued from a soda machine after it ran into an athletic club.

I love releasing opossums! When an adult or juvenile which has been injured and rehabbed is released back into the wild, it tends to take off running as soon as it is released and never look back. This is especially true of female possums with a pouch full of babies. Orphaned possums that I've hand raised from very little are a different story. They step out into the world slowly, tasting everything in sight. They roam a little ways then come back to sniff at my shoes looking up at me as if saying, "Now what, Mom?" They slowly meander away nibbling vegitation and snapping up insects. Happy little guys, off to explore the world. Happy Mother's Day to all!